Nexus
by Soof49
Summary: Part II of the Auros Trilogy. A team of characters gather in Hyrule to battle off a common foe, in circumstances similar to the Subspace Emissary campaign of Brawl. Follow Auros the Lucario as he is embroiled in all this, all while dealing with his troubling past, and new issues such as romance, friendship, and the Continuum. (Chapter - Flight released. Dilemmas everywhere!)
1. Prologue

**:**

_**Fanfiction #4 : Nexus**_

_**Auros Trilogy**_

_Rifted** → Nexus → **Concord_

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_**Introduction**_

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**:::REWROTE:::**

Welcome to the fourth fanfiction that has been created by me! This is the recreated version, and will replace the old version of Nexus, which was plagued by stupid grammatical errors and mistakes. Also, the introduction was insanely long, so I want to keep this one short.

**Large changes from revision :**

**New Cover Art**

**More organization**

**Cleaner**

**Switch from past-tense to present-tense**

**Fixes to obvious grammar and spelling errors**

**Large plot changes**

**New themes**

**Cross-posted to Archive of our Own**

**Included into a Trilogy – the Auros Trilogy**

**Determined names of Parts 1 & 3 of this Trilogy. Rifted to Nexus to Concord**

**Change in major themes. Now, Friendship and Fantasy instead of Friendship and Adventure**

**Cleaned up the dates**

**Smaller introductions and closures, more cryptic 'next chapter' sections**

**Removal of chapter numbering, sticking with just names now**

**Many other changes**

**The themes for this story are Fantasy and Friendship. **However, some that don't present themselves because of the limitation of only two themes will be _**Hurt/Comfort **_**and **_**Angst.**_** Both are themes that I highly enjoy, and will definitely see a higher degree of that element in my story. **

I'm also aware that I was against this initially, but I decided to cave in and just say that** there probably will be a ****MINOR**** (as in it wont interrupt the main genres of the story) amount of non-explicit M/M romance in the later chapters. The opportunity will be too great to pass up (and will be necessary to the plot. I'm not adding in romance just for the hell of it). **It'll _definitely _be my first time writing something like that, and I'm only deriving my knowledge of how to write it from other fanfic. I think **humor might also make an appearance**, though to a somewhat lesser extent.

**On my profile, there is going to be a lot of information pertaining to this story, along with other stories I develop. I'm not one to really advertise my profile, but in this case I seriously suggest you do. It should make everything clear if it is not.**

The story will be **split into subgroups, which will be known as "Acts"**. Similar to real novels, an Act will represent a _major _shift in the story, or a major event, or perhaps something else that is pretty big. Inside each act, there will be multiple chapters, like normal. **Inside each chapter, however, it will**__**be split up into multiple parts**. You'll know when you see it. Hopefully, this should provide a more structured feeling.

Writing styles are as follows :

Normal text : The narrator, which is usually third person.

_Italicized text _: Could be a variety of things, such as emphasis, or thoughts. Should always be clear to the reader.

"_Italicized text with quotations" _: Telepathy.

"Normal text with quotations" : Vocal speech.

In addition to this, I decided to use the **American English style of writing**. Obviously, this would mean that "color" would not have an extra "u" after the second "o".

**Oh by the way. Since we're pals.. **please check out **GameManiac's stories.** I hate to see stories with such _massive _amounts of effort poured into them receive such little attention. In addition to his stories, check out some of his favorite authors. **OseanSoldier** makes a mean story as well! I'd also like to thank **Lupyne **for my _original _inspiration. His fanfiction was the _very _first and the best fanfiction I've ever read.

On a final note : I am aware that there is a Pokémon story out there with the same name as this story (as well as being about a Lucario too!), and does the same definition of words at the beginning. This was purely coincidental, and you will find that our stories differ greatly. Enjoy!

**Story is cross-posted on AO3.**

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_**Information**_

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**Updates**

**September 24, 2014 : Revision started**

**September 30, 2014 : Revision finished**

**November 12, 2014 : Minor edits**

I have a specific picture of Auros on my profile, which is how I envision him. I suggest you check that out, along with the other information that is there.

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_**Prologue**_

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_**Act I**_

_**Prelude**_

_**to**_

_**Nexus**_

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_**Adversity : Difficulties or misfortune.**_

_**Resiliency : The capacity to recover quickly from adversity.**_

_**Nexus : A**__** connection or series of connections linking two or more things, or the central and most important point or place.**_

**The crickets in the night** sang out to the world, chirping and filling the fresh air with the sounds of the wild. The shadow of the clouds swarmed over the forests of the region of Sinnoh, leaving the air crisp and cool. Travelers of all kinds pass through the area, looking for refuge, wild Pokémon, or attempting to fulfill their own personal wants. Rarely, there was a Pokémon trainer. Experts in Pokémon and battle strategies, their intentions vary greatly amongst each other. Some strive to catch as many wild Pokémon as possible, while others attack and defeat the wild Pokémon to train their own. Some had more malevolent intentions, while others had more benevolent ideas, even going so far as to befriend the wildlife.

Most wild Pokémon have had at least one encounter with humans in their lifetime. Some are lucky and can get away, while others are captured. The ones that are captured find themselves slowly subdued into a friendship with their trainer. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; on the same token, it isn't necessarily a good thing. There are trainers who neglect their Pokémon, but there are trainers who end up taking great care of them. Overall, it is a game of luck. One where you must avoid all contact with humans if you want to avoid the risks.

Sinnoh does pride itself on having some of the most exotic Pokémon. They are known to host many species in their rich forests, and trainers from all over the world show up to try and capture them. It brings great revenue to the island, but at a cost that no human would ever care about.

One of the many species is known as 'Lucario'. They are known to exhibit many personalities, although the prime one that is displayed would usually be one of ferocity, and one of immense physical and mental strength. They inherit a sense of justice. They are also known for their superior resiliency, due to their body type: a '_Fighting / Steel' _Type Pokémon,meaning that they are essentially excellent at combat, and their frames are partially steel. 

Perhaps one of the largest accomplishments for a Lucario is mastering its own "Aura". Aura is the living essence that surrounds us all. Everything that is anything will emit an aura. No exceptions. Even tiny grains of sand will emit a minuscule amount of aura. A Lucario, once having mastered their abilities to control aura, will be able to manipulate it into attacks, remedial powers, defenses, or optics. Such attacks include Aura Spheres and Force Palms, amongst diverse others. Both require the Lucario to channel aura through its body, and direct it at their enemy. The damaging effect of Aura is phenomenal, and is still indescribable by many people.

More extraordinary is the ability for a Lucario to replenish its own aura supplies. Once an attack has been carried out, they must give themselves a small amount of time to assimilate the surrounding aura into their body, where it can then be used for another attack. However, attacks aren't the only powers that one could master with aura. Since it is so powerful, a Lucario can influence it into a healing force, being able to mend themselves and others in ways that far surpass modern medical achievements.

Out of all of those, the _most astonishing_ quality for a Lucario is the ability to have, in a metaphorical sense, a third eye. Using four aura receptors on the back of their head, they are able to raise these and utilize them to sense _all _the aura around them. The most well trained Lucario are able to detect everything that is happening around them in a half mile radius. They are nearly immune to being snuck up on because of this, and the resulting effect is a very powerful and agile foe.

Some Lucario are different, however. While some may be weaker than others, there are certainly ones that have managed to exceed what has even been expected of them. Stories have risen about certain Lucario that have the ability to communicate using their aura, and can talk to humans telepathically. Some have been able to read and write, which usually comes as an immense surprise to most people.

Some are beyond even that, and through pure luck or heavy training regimes, exhibit powers that are far beyond what was ever anticipated. Some have been able to break the barrier that holds many trainers and Pokémon back: the four move barrier. Naturally, a Pokémon can only learn four moves before being forced to forget one if they want to add a different one. Until recently, this was a law: it had never been broken. A Lucario managed to break this not too long ago, but his whereabouts are currently unknown. Most stories today say that he has been wandering the regions of Sinnoh for around a year.

He is simply known as "Auros", and prefers no name other than that. Stories travel very far about his adventures. Some say he was warped across multiple dimensions, while others say that he stayed in Sinnoh, defeating multiple Legendary Pokémon from destroying the region. Regardless of what the legends say, his current location is still unknown. He arrived back in Sinnoh, only to be ridiculed and shamed for his actions. After being forced in exile, he spent the next year of his life pointlessly wandering. A hero now unrecognized, a hero with no more purpose in life...

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_**Prologue : Part I**_

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"_Hm... perhaps we should consider tracking him down? Did you see how high he just jumped?" _

"_I did. It might be the legendary Lucario that we've been searching for. Does he actually have a name?"_

"_Auros or somethin'. Let's follow him."_

A man sighs, lowering the pair of binoculars that were obstructing his eyes. He wipes his face, rotating his hand to see the sweat that had accumulated there. He gazes in the distance for several seconds, contemplating something.

"Paul?"

He stumbles, turning around towards his partner.

"Sorry about that. Just trying to figure out how we could track down such an elusive Pokémon," Paul says, exasperated. He shakes his head, closing his eyes briefly.

"You know, Andy, if we do find and subdue him, it could mean a lot to us. Think of the power that we could hold in our hands..."

"I know, I know. Give us time, and we should be able to find him. He can only be _so elusive._ Once we corner him, a fire-type should take him out fairly easily," Andy responds.

"I can only hope."

The duo stand there for a few more moments, simply surveying the landscape. It was a rather large valley, surrounded by hills. A mountain towered in the distance, one that overlooked a nearby city. In the depression was a lush forest, and was fairly secluded from the rest of the world. It would often take a high mobility truck such as theirs to get to the location.

They head back to the truck, and slam the doors shut as they take off in the direction that they spotted the Lucario.

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_Easy._

Auros, the legendary Aura Pokémon, watches without a sound as the truck passes by carelessly, before crouching low. His powerful legs thrust on the ground, propelling him upwards with elegance. The Pokémon does a variety of maneuvers in the air, testing himself, before dropping back to the ground. With a sigh, he tilts forward and races ahead after the truck.

A sudden thump on the back of the truck startles both of the drivers, and it swerves off to the right and into the ditch, causing it to come to a _crunching_ halt. Auros hops off the back of the truck, jumping up into one of the nearby trees surrounding the road at the last moment.

"What the hell was that..?" the driver shouts.

"I have no idea. Might've been that Lucario we've been chasing!" the other passenger shouts in response. Auros watches mutely at the exchange of words, a slight creep of amusement crossing his face at the mention of him. He drops down off the tree, landing right behind them and startling them. They regain their senses and break out into evil grins.

"Ah, I see he's decided to come stop us. Come on buddy, show us what you've got."

The two men throw out their Pokémon balls, each bouncing only a short distance away from Auros. A Houndoom and Camerupt soon take their place.

_Fire-types, eh? Not surprising if they were hunting me in particular._

Auros adopts a battle stance, before quickly rushing in with a paw extended, palm out. The Houndoom takes a cautious step back, apparently surprised at the sudden rush of movement from the Aura Pokémon. Auros slams his paw forcefully into the fire-type, channeling an excessive amount of aura into it. The attack sends it flying, landing violently in the forest and out of sight. Without giving the two men time to react, he turns towards the Camerupt and launches an Aura Sphere at it, causing massive amounts of damage. The fire-type staggers, before shaking its head and kneeling.

A large amount of lava suddenly erupts from it, spewing upwards and back down towards Auros.

"He's finished now!"

"Yeah, get him Camerupt!"

Auros ducks, closing his eyes and sending energy to his paws. Instead of forming an attack, he jumps up and focuses with all of his strength directly in front of him. The lava strikes him, but only slides off the aural shield that he created. After several seconds, the attack is already over, and Auros looks over with a smirk at the two men who were now bewildered. He drops down, and launches another Aura Sphere at the Camerupt, effectively finishing it off.

The Aura Pokémon slowly turns back towards the men, who are frozen. He takes a threatening step forward, which snaps them out of their trance.

"_LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" _

Both of them stumble back towards their vehicle, somehow managing to free it from the ditch. As they grow farther and farther away, Auros makes a horrifying realization.

_They left their Pokémon behind._

In response, Auros breaks into a full sprint, chasing the truck down again. It is only a matter of seconds before he manages to catch up, and slams himself back into the truck. They manage to keep it steady. Auros easily hops upwards and onto the top of the speeding truck, landing in the flatbed in the back. He thrusts a paw forward, smashing the back window glass. While he ignores the pain of glass cutting into his skin, the driver violently slams on the brakes, sending Auros's paw further into the cabin. He hisses loudly and retracts his arm, and jumps off the back of the truck as it finally stops.

He _calmly _walks over to the driver's door of the truck, and glares with extreme ferocity at the driver. After receiving no response, he slams his paw on the door, leaving a large dent. Finally, the driver shakily opens the door and steps out, swiveling to face Auros.

"W-what do you want?" the man questioned with dread.

Instead of a response, Auros let his anger get the best of him. He grabs the man's arm and heaves him over his shoulder, sending him flying into the trees on the side of the road. The other passenger rushes out of the other side of the truck and darts off screaming in the opposite direction.

Auros ignores him. He turns back towards the driver, who is struggling to get back to his feet. Before he can make much progress, the Aura Pokémon pounces upon him, pinning him to the ground. He makes no further attempt to hide his abilities.

"_Why did you leave behind those Pokémon?" _he snarls at the driver in a deep and gruff voice.

"I-what? How are you.. you talking in my m-mind?" the man responds. Auros lifts him up a bit, before slamming him face-first back into the dirt.

"_I asked you a question. Answer me!"_

Receiving no response, Auros growls lowly and flips the man over. He sits on the driver's stomach, and violently begins to punch him in the face.

"_You do not mistreat innocent Pokémon!" _

The rage finally consumes Auros, and he allows himself to attack the man personally, with the full intention to _kill_.

"P-please, it-"

_Slam._

"I was fe-"

_Slam._

"F-fearful for m-"

_Slam._

"HEY!"

Auros's paw comes to a grinding halt directly next to the man's face, and he freezes. The sudden outside voice snapped him out of the fury, and he slowly feels a return to normalcy. With horror, he realizes what he has done when he sees his bloody paw, and leaps off the man.

Auros turns around to see another person, who is only a teenager. He is wearing a red vest, blue jeans, and a red and white cap. The badge tacked to his vest tells Auros that he is a Pokémon trainer. The person comes running up and looks down, his eyes widening at the bloody face of the man whose face Auros just obliterated.

"What did you do to him?!" the teenager asks in horror, and Auros takes a step back as the unknown person kneels next to the driver, who is now groaning in pain.

_Who is he?_

The teenager stands back up, and turns to face him. Auros wrenches his head from the mangled body of the driver and stares back at the kid, with a look of fear, who picks up on that. The trainer hesitantly takes a step forward towards Auros, and holds out a hand.

"It's alright. My name is Red, you can trust me."

Auros stares at Red, then glances down at his hand, which is inching closer and closer. Reluctantly, Auros takes the hand and shakes it lightly, before stepping away again. Red shrugs his bag off his shoulders and kneels on the ground, zipping it open and letting some of the contents spill out.

"Should have some medical supplies in here somewhere.. darn things always get cluttered underneath everything else," he says, before looking back up at Auros. "Hey, why don't you just take a seat for a second? You look really sick."

Auros nods, slumping against a tree and staring wide-eyed at the boy.

_I thought it was gone._

Red finally pulls out a package of gauze, along with some medical alcohol. He pads over to the driver, and applies the supplies to his bloodied face. After a couple minutes, he finishes and dumps off the remaining stuff in his bag, before hoisting it to his shoulders again. He tugs on his vest, before walking over to Auros.

"Are you alright? What happened back there?" he asks curiously.

_I broke my promise._

"_I-I.. I don't know.." _Auros sighs outwardly, and Red jumps for a second.

"Oh! Telepathy. That would make sense." Red smiles at Auros, bringing a hand up and onto Auros's head, rubbing it gently. The sudden act of affection causes him to jump and stare at the trainer again.

"Take it easy. You don't have to answer me right now. Looks like you're troubled by something. Perhaps a rest would be beneficial," Red says, reaching around to open another pocket on his bag. Auros protests weakly, the mental anguish too strong for him to put up a real fight. Before he knows it, a strange powder is held in front of his muzzle, and he involuntarily inhales it.

Despite his best efforts to stay awake, Auros feels his eyelids beginning to droop, and he dips into an uncomfortable slumber.

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_**Prologue : Part II**_

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"_Their aura.. it is green. Why do you attack them if their aura is the same?"_

"_I don't care! Do you see what they're doing? We'll all be dead soon if you don't help!"_

"_I-I... I can't.. I can't attack something with an innocent aura. It goes against everything I know!"_

"_Auros, if you don't attack them, I swear to God. If we live through this, I'll have my men shoot yo-"_

"_Fine! I...I-I'll do it.."_

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_H-hah... _

Auros sits up, panting heavily from the flashback. He looks around the room, taking a quick survey of the area. He is sitting on a comfortable one person bed, and a small end table with a lamp borders one side of the it.

Auros swings his legs out, placing them on the cold wood floor, before standing up weakly. His body developed a strange ability, where he is able to tell the exact time whenever he wants. Currently, the internal clock tells him he had been sleeping for an uneasy six hours. He glances around the room, studying it more carefully.

A wardrobe sits on the opposite side of the room, one of the doors slightly ajar and various clothing items spilling out of it and onto the ground. Next to it, there is a modestly sized desk with a wood chair pushed in, and various papers sprawled out on the desk. A couple model Pokémon balls are on display on the desk.

Before he has a chance to look closer at the papers, the door suddenly opens and Auros spins around to see Red walking in, giving a surprised yelp.

"Woah! Didn't expect you to be up. Take a seat," he says with a firm tone. Auros does so, sitting on the bed. Red walks to his desk and grabs the chair, lifting it easily and setting it down in front of Auros so that they are at eye level.

"Now, I need you to tell me what happened. It's the only way I can trust you."

Auros scoffs lightly, shaking his head.

"_Why should I care if you trust me?" _he responds coldly. Red only stares back with a neutral expression.

"Do you trust me?"

_No._

"_I don't know."  
><em>

Red sighs, bringing his face to his hands. Auros's heart skips a beat, and quickly reaches out a paw.

"Sometimes I really wish I could understand Pokémon better."

His paw stops short. Red raises his head, staring Auros in the eyes again.

"Now, will you _please_ tell me what happened? For my sake?"

Auros breathes out shakily.

"_Fine. Those two men tracked me down and attacked me, and when I defeated their Pokémon, they ran away in fear. But they left behind their Pokémon." _Red frowns.

"_I didn't react well either. I chased them down and stopped them, but.. something happened. I don't usually become angry, but I snapped at that moment and forced the driver out of his truck. Then, it began to consume me. My memories are hazy from there on out, but I do recall you encountering me, and once you did, all the anger flowed away." _

Red nodded a bit, before letting a small smile creep up on his face.

"Well, Lucario, I'll have you know that the driver's name is Andy, and his friend's name is Paul," Red says, and Auros tilts his head.

_"How do you kn-" _

_Click. _Auros jumps at the noise, and Red turns to see his door open. Two painfully recognizable men walk in, and Auros feels his blood turn cold. The one on the left has a bruised face, with ugly white bandages covering it.

"Hey guys. Go ahead and talk to him," Red chirps, standing up off the stool and walking briskly out of the room. Auros stares at the men, who glare back at him. The one with the bruised face, apparently Andy, is wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a long green shirt. The other one, whom Auros assumes is Paul, is wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He also is wearing a gray beanie.

"So..." Andy utters, and Auros closes his eyes and shakes his head.

"So. Maybe we should ask him why the _hell _he decided to beat your face to a freaking pulp?" Paul spits out, and Auros flinches.

"Give him a break. We _did _leave behind our Pokémon."

Paul scoffs. "Whatever, man. He still had no right to smash the window on our truck. I don't know why you are so.. so, _okay _with this situation, when he practically broke your entire face."

"And I don't know how you can be such an ass to someone who is _clearly_ regretting it! I mean, are you blind?" Andy argues.

Paul turns to Auros, who still has his eyes closed and is trembling slightly. He snorts and storms out of the room. Andy kneels next to the Pokémon, taking his paw and squeezing it lightly.

"I forgive you. Apparently Paul wasn't listening when Red told us that you had some sort of mental anguish going on, and I know how you probably couldn't control yourself. I mean-" he points towards the door, where Paul left, and chuckles slightly. "It's not like you are the only one!"

Auros opens his eyes and looks back up at Andy.

"_I-I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry that I did this to you. Y-you must realize, it was nearly a year since I've done anything like that..." _Auros whispers, and Andy shakes his head and smiles.

"Well, like I've said, it happens to the best of us. I forgive you. Besides, we _wanted _to capture you. You had every right to defend yourself."

Auros knew that by chasing them, he wasn't exactly defending himself anymore, but he appreciated the gesture regardless. He finally smiles back at Andy.

"You're at Red's house currently. His mom and pop cook up a hell of a meal! You should eat."

Auros nods, and Andy leaves the room, the Pokémon padding behind him silently.

_How can he forgive me so easily?_

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"Hey Lucario!"

Auros shook his head, clearing away the troublesome thoughts, as he entered the kitchen. He looks at Red, who is smiling at him and is awaiting a response. Auros smiles weakly back, and nods his head.

"So, for dinner, we're having some homemade casserole! You're going to love it. Andy, Paul, Lucario, find a seat anywhere at the table."

Auros glances over to where Red is looking, and sees a modestly sized wooden table hugging the wall. Six chairs line the table, and Lucario watches as Andy and Paul pick seats next to each other. The Aura Pokémon stands there hesitantly, ears folded back, waiting for someone else to take a seat.

"Clear the table!" Red's mother shouts, before placing a steaming dish of casserole on the table. Auros watches it, but doesn't feel a particular appetite. His mind begins to float away, disturbed once again by flashbacks.

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"_Listen, Auros.."_

"_I don't care about what you have to say! They were innocent! All of them!"_

"_Y-you.. they were attacking us..."_

"_How can you fight members of your own species so.. s-so willingly? I don't understand... but now I know that I have their blood on my paws.. and I'll never forgive myself for it."_

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"Lucario!"

_Huh?_

Auros glances up again, shaking his head, noticing that everyone at the table was staring at him. Blood rushes to his face immediately, and he looks away. Red laughs.

"Don't worry about it! We can talk later, alright? Here, I saved you a seat."

Auros pads over to the empty seat, sitting and staring at the food in front of him. The other members of the house proceeded to dig in, and short exchanges of conversation broke out among the table.

However, the Aura Pokémon could only stare at the food with indifference. It seems appetizing enough, and everyone else is enjoying it, but..

"_Sullen is dead."_

His eyes widen slightly, and he frowns.

"_What happened?"_

Auros gives out a small cough, clearing his throat, before staring back down at the plate. Nobody was noticing him.

"_Apparently, they were ambushed by another squad. Poor bastard managed to save some of the others, but got himself killed."_

He started to feel sick to his stomach.

"_S'pose they could've fended them off if Auros was with them.. where is he, by the way?"_

"Uh, Lucario? You look terrible again," Red's soft voice shakes Auros, and he pushes back his chair harshly and sprints out the door. He only makes it a short distance away before keeling over and uncomfortably losing the day's contents through his mouth. He drops to his knees, shivering from the sensation and the flashbacks.

Within a few seconds, Red and his parents arrive at his side, and he flinches harshly at the hand of the trainer touching him.

"Easy, relax Lucario! Holy Arceus, what happened?"

Auros can only shake his head, incapable of words. Red kneels next to him, not bothered by the mess, and looks firmly into Auros's eyes.

"Look, we really need to discuss what is happening to you soon, alright? For now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take you back to the house so you can rest."

Auros nods weakly, and Red slides his hands under his back and lifts him off the ground. He feels warmth spread throughout him, and somehow the comforting hold that Red has on him drives him back to sleep quickly.

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"_Indigo!"_

Auros flails out of the bed, landing on the floor with a loud thump. His mind is dazed, even more so when the harsh florescent light turns on and blinds his vision.

"Lucario? You okay?"

Auros recognizes Red's voice immediately, and groans loudly while trying to sit up. He feels a hand grasp his paw and pull him up, and he only offers minimal resistance. He rubs his eyes, opening them slowly. Harsh dawn light pierces through the window, and waves of oversleeping course through him. Tentatively, he grasps the sheets of the bed and steadies himself, before bringing himself fully up.

"_...I'm fine,_" he slurs out, and Red smiles.

"It's fine. Man, you slept like a rock. Full twelve hours, plus the six that you had shortly before dinner yesterday. You look better, aside from the obvious side effects of sleeping that long." 

Auros shrugs. _"Nightmare," _he grunts. He pads over to the washroom, staring in the mirror and attempting to flatten his matted fur. Red appears behind him again, the same boyish smile on his face.

"Do you have a name?" Red asks out of seemingly nowhere. Auros stops for a moment, considering the question, before resuming his self-grooming.

"_It is Auros." _

"Auros, eh? Not bad," Red says, before pausing for a moment. "Why don't you stay with us for a while? I'd really like to get to know you better."

"_Hm..?" _Auros tilts his head upwards for a moment, unsure about the request, before firmly shaking his head. _"No. I could not burden you with that. I have too much... mental trauma... to force you to have to deal with me." _

"Oh, but we insist! We're always looking for new members of the family."

Auros freezes, and his eyes open marginally wider briefly, but he closes them again.

"_I don't understand. What do you mean by, 'new members of the family'?"_

"Well.. you seem nice enough. Uh.." Red pauses, as if he was questioning his own statement. Auros only shakes his head again.

"_Maybe I could stay with you for a bit. But I would not consider myself part of any family. Never really had one, and I don't desire one." _Auros returns to grooming himself, and the two lapse into another uncomfortable silence. After a few minutes, Red finally speaks up again.

"You were clinging to me last night."

Auros chokes on the air, before bending over and coughing. He recovers and stares at Red with fear.

"_I-I, I didn't mean to.. I'm.. s-sorry-" _

"Heh, I don't mind. When I looked over at you, you had the biggest smile on your face. I stayed with you for as long as possible, but eventually I was called down for breakfast. What were you dreaming about?"

_Indigo._

"_An old friend of mine," _Auros says flatly. Red nods. After a few more minutes, Auros gives up at trying to fix his fur, and turns to face Red again.

"_Look, I'm very sorry about the trouble I've caused you guys so far. I shouldn't have ev-"_

Auros never finishes the sentence, as Red moves forward and embraces him tightly. Auros buries his face in Red's vest, hesitating for a few moments, before hugging him back. They share this warm moment for what seems like an eternity to both, before both pull back from each other and smile.

_Maybe I will give the idea of 'friendship' one more chance._

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_**Prologue : Part III**_

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Auros sinks deeper into the bath, letting the water swim around his fur and reset it to its natural state. The warm water soothes him, and the painful memories from the past float away as he smiles and hums softly to himself.

After several minutes of this, he finally empties the tub and gets out, intricately patting himself dry with a small towel. It takes nearly half an hour, but he finally is able to get his fur smoothed out once more for the first time in weeks. He finally walks out of the washroom, entering the same bedroom that he woke in earlier. It was now midday.

"Lunch!"

He quickly turns to the door, the muffled noise indicating that it came from far away in the house. The waft of food hits his muzzle, and suddenly his stomach starts to pain.

_Right. Gotta feed myself._

Auros enters the dining room, finding all five of the people he met only a day ago bustling about in the kitchen, some conversing, others preparing. He stands there, unsure of what to do, when Red finally takes notice of him.

"There you are! Thought you ought to have lunch before we head off today."

Auros blinks.

"_Head... off?"_

"Of course! I am a Pokémon trainer after all, and I thought that you'd like to follow us for a bit? Promise I won't capture you," the trainer says reassuringly. Auros flattens his ears and takes a step back.

_Still wary._

"_I-I don't know.." _

Red only smiles, and grabs a plate filled with strange foods off the counter. He hands it to Auros, who takes it slowly and stands there with his ears still flattened.

"It's fine. Perhaps you just need some food. You sound pretty hungry." A blush quickly spreads across Auros's face when he realizes that his stomach is growling, and he retreats to the wall and slumps to the floor next to it. He looks down at the plate, examining the heated food, before looking back up when Red is staring back down at him with a grin.

"Why are you eating on the floor? Come on!" Red suddenly grabs Auros's paw and pulls him harshly to his feet, causing him to stumble a bit. He lets himself be guided by Red to a seat, and Red pushes down lightly on his shoulders as if he was saying: _'Take a seat, Auros.'_

He complies, setting the plate on the table, trying to feel comfortable but failing. Paul still passes him wary glances every now and then, while Andy almost immediately sends an apologetic glance afterwards. Red and his parents exchange daily talk, something about an increase in population...

Auros tunes it out, before trying out some of the food. When it hits his taste buds, the flavor isn't one to revel in, but his hunger gets the better of his senses. Within a minute, the plate is emptied and Auros looks up to see Red's parents smiling at them with giddiness. As expected, he turns away, embarrassed.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. I'll get you another plate, if you want?" Red's father asks, hopeful. Auros only shakes his head and hands him the plate when he reaches for it, bowing politely. Finally, Red's whole family laughs, and the father leaves to the kitchen.

"He's so polite!" Red's mother exclaims, reaching over to rub Auros's head. He flinches, but manages to control it so it doesn't look like it was because of his past.

Over the exclamations from Red's mother, Auros briefly hears a chair being pushed back and a man stomping out of the house. He didn't need to use his aura senses to tell that it was _probably _Paul. A second chair is pushed out.

"Sorry about that, ma'am. I'll talk to Paul – I don't think he's very happy for obvious reasons. We'll be right back." 

Auros looks back up towards the man walking away with guilt, and quickly breaks free of the mother's grasp and sprints out the door after the two.

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"_He almost KILLED you, Andy!" _

_Ouch. I know._

"Paul, you need to relax. Isn't it obvious to you that he regrets it? How blind are you sometimes?"

"I don't care if he regrets it. Dammit, of _course _I see that! I _know _that he probably couldn't control himself," he pauses, as tears begin to well up in his eyes, and he turns away. "But the thought that I almost lost my only brother because of him is enough of a reason for me to hate him."

_Oh._

_How did I miss that?_

"Paul..."

"Andy, just leave me alone for a bit. I don't want to do something irrati-" he stops, when a slight rustling in the bushes grabs his attention. He turns towards the sound, seeing Auros pop out with his head down almost immediately. Paul scowls.

"Lucario, p-perhaps now isn't the best time," Andy says shakily, and Auros nods. As he turns to leave, another voice calls out.

"Wait."

Paul's sudden interjection, and change of tone to one of calmness, manages to change Auros's direction once more. He stares directly at the man's eyes, attempting to divulge the emotions that he can tell are fighting in his brain.

"Look, it's obvious I don't like you, but I know that your intentions are good. I... I can see them well enough myself, and I trust that my brother is telling the truth. I don't want to see you go, as much as I dislike you already. It would tear me apart. So please, stay for just a bit more? At least tell us your name or something?"

Auros shrugs, while Andy seems more relaxed as he takes a large swig of water.

"_My name is Auros." _

Andy coughs, dropping the water bottle and hacking up some water lodged in his throat. Paul shakes his head and smiles lightly, turning to Andy.

"Arceus, Andy. Why is it _that _surprising to you?" Paul says, amused. Auros only tilts his head in confusion.

"...S-sorry, just took me b-by surprise.." he chokes out, before coughing again. Paul turns to Auros.

"Anyways, will you agree to stay with us a bit longer?" Auros nods quickly, his mind already made up long ago.

"_Of course. But... why are you surprised at my name?"_

"Oh, that. We were originally attempting to track you down. In the end, I guess it was you who ended up tracking us down instead. Our intentions changed, though. No need to fear us."

Auros nods weakly, processing the load of information.

_Another enemy to check off._

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_**Prologue : Part IV**_

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"So... what else do I need to pack? Perhaps I should pack a van in my backpack too. Would that make you happy, my dearest mother?"

Auros smiled lightly as Red's mother laughed and punched him in the shoulder.

"Just making sure you are ready to go, sweetie." 

"Well, you do it _every _time! You'd think I'd be able to do it by myself now."

"I don't know. You _almost _forgot Zoroark," his mother says while smirking. Red growls.

"We agreed not to bring that up."

Red's mother stops smirking, and looks at him with regret.

"Sorry, I forgot..."

Thankfully, Red laughs and hugs his mother for a couple seconds, before pulling away.

"See ya soon, mom! I promise, no later than a month."

"And call me every day. _Every _day, I'm serious this time. No more, _'Oh I forgot, I was out of the cell service in the middle of the city.' _

"Right. Will do. Love you mom!" he shouts, giving his mother another hug before running out the door.

"Love you too! Be safe! Don't go too..." she sighs, when she realizes that he is out of range. Her eyes seemed clouded with worry, and Auros awkwardly shuffles.

"Hm? Oh, right! Sorry about that, Auros. Here," she hands him a small box. He turns it over in his paws a few times, before bowing politely. Red's mother laughs.

"Don't keep turning it over! Open it!" Confused, Auros looks closer and notices a small latch on it. Blushing, he pulls the latch, releasing the top of the box and revealing the contents.

Inside is a small circular frame with a picture of Red smiling. A chain is hooked to it, indicating that it is a necklace. Auros smiles, holding it up in the air to examine it.

"I thought since you've been so kind to us, I would give you something in return. I know it isn't much, but I hope you enjoy it. I had it custom made at the shop a little farther in town. Don't worry, it wasn't too expensive."

Auros blinks a few times, before bowing once again.

"_Thank you."_

"One more thing, Auros, before you can go with Red. I know this might be a bit weird, but... please watch over Red. I worry about his safety all the time, and I know he's a young adult already. But it's just going to be him, his Pokémon, and you. With Andy and Paul gone now, I'm worried. Quite honestly, you're the most powerful of them all, and I trust that you can make sure he returns to me safely. Please, can you do it for me?"

Auros waits a moment, before nodding.

"_Of course." _

Red's mother breaks into a grin, and hugs Auros.

"Thank you so much. Good luck, I trust that you guys will be back soon. Make sure Red calls me _every _day!"

"_I will make sure he does that. Thank you for the gift."_

She nods lightly, before pushing him along and out the door.

"Go along now! Don't want you to lose him already!"

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Auros eventually catches up to Red. They travel together for several kilometers, talking about minor things relating to their own lives. Auros never divulges much more than his dull year that he spent in the wild area of Sinnoh, fending off random trainers and feral Pokémon. Red tells much more, talking about his past and his travels in all of the various regions of the world. Auros couldn't help but to feel impressed by the amount of traveling he did, and loses himself quickly in the tales that Red tells him.

Suddenly, Red stops mid sentence and Auros turns to look at him expectantly. A look of determination crosses his face.

"_Look over there," _Red whispers, pointing in the nearby bushes. Auros turns to see them rustling gently, a small star-tipped tail swaying. Red reaches slowly for a Poké Ball on his belt, grabbing one and pressing the button. Ending the silence, he shouts and throws the ball elegantly, releasing an Ivysaur.

"Ivysaur, Vine Whip!" Red shouts, and the Ivysaur shoots out several vines which ensnare the poor wild Pokémon. Auros watches in fascination as Red throws an empty Poké Ball at the small Pokémon, engulfing it in a red light. The ball drops to the ground, shaking three times before a solid _click _signifies that the Pokémon has been captured. Red smiles and holds up the Pokémon ball.

"A Shinx. I'll keep him around for a while until we get to a Pokémon Center, then I'll store him," Red announces, before nodding to Auros. The Aura Pokémon walks over to him, and they resume walking.

"_...Auros."_

Auros jumps, stopping mid-step and nearly tripping. Red turns to Auros with a quizzical expression.

"Auros, what's wrong?"

"_I-I... I'm quite unsure. I heard a voice calling my name in my head.."_

Red blinks several times, before shaking his head and shrugging.

"I dunno," he says flatly, before turning to start walking again. Hesitantly, Auros starts after him but a sudden painful sensation courses through his body. He almost drops to his knees and grunts in pain. This time, Red turns around with a much more worried expression.

"Auros?"

He walks over to the Aura Pokémon, who is closing his eyes and gripping the fur on his thighs tightly, trembling. Red lays a hand on Auros's shoulder.

"What is it?"

Auros ignores the message as his vision suddenly enters an aural state, allowing him to see the entire world through the aura that is displayed. He shudders and his breath catches when he realizes that the entire area is engulfed in an evil / red-like aura mist that seems to be prodding everything _good _in the area. Including them. He begins to take in sharp breaths, panicking, but Red's calming voice and hand holds him over for a little longer.

Struggling, he adjusts his vision so that it is now attempting to locate the source of the evil aura mist. It doesn't take long – he locates a small grassy field with a hill, and a small sphere that has the darkest aura signifies that it is the origin. He frantically opens his eyes, looking directly back at Red who has almost the same panicked expression.

Without a second thought, he grips Red's hand and pulls him, sprinting off in the direction of the evil sphere. It only takes a couple minutes before they are already upon the hill, Red gasping hard behind him.

"Auros! I.. would... appreciate it... if you.. told me... what is happening!" Red gasps out, keeling over to regain control of himself quicker. Auros ignores him once again as he stares with amazement at the source.

A purple sphere that appeared to adhere to no physical law out there floated on the top of the grassy hill, sparks of electrical energy shooting out of it for a short distance in every direction. Red soon catches his breath, following Auros's gaze to the top of the hill and becoming just as dumbfounded as he is.

"How... how is that possible?" Red questions, but Auros doesn't have an answer.

"_I don't kno-"_

"_Auros."_

The voice cuts him off, startling him again and causing him to jump. As expected, Red is at his side and looking at him with a worried expression.

"What is wrong? Seriously, I'd like to know now," Red asks with a hint of frustration. Auros only shakes his head. He wanted an answer just as badly as Red.

Something troubling was occurring at the same time as the voice. The first time, Auros felt a small twinge of attraction within him, as if he had an idea of where they should go next. He didn't bother to tell Red, as he thought it was unimportant.

But now... now that it happened again, Auros feels a strange sense of attraction to the evil sphere _itself. _It appears that the voice is pulling him towards it.

As Auros makes this horrifying realization, he can already feel his legs going to work, involuntarily walking directly towards the sphere. He hears Red give a startled squeak behind him, before running to catch up.

"H-Hey, Auros? What are you doing? You can't possibly be considering this to be a good idea, can you?"

Auros shakes his head, and continues to walk. As he becomes frighteningly close, Red begins to grow desperate and shout.

"Holy Arceus, Auros, get back here! Do you have any _freakin' _idea what you are doing? You're going to get yourself killed! Dammit, Auros, get back!" he shouts, but Auros can not stop anymore. He attempts to pour as much mental power and will power into stopping the movement, but nothing succeeds. He closes his eyes as the evil portal engulfs his entire vision, and he begins to fade out of existence.

Before he is completely gone, he feels a hand grasp his paw tightly, holding on for dear life as the two are literally _ripped_ out of the dimension.

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_**Next Chapter**_

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"_I wouldn't be able to believe it if it didn't happen in front of my own eyes. A force so powerful that when it struck my sword, I was actually afraid that it would break. I was afraid for my own life. For everyone. For something that can be that powerful could possibly overwhelm the sacred symbol of our kingdom."_

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_**Closure**_

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This is the completed and revised prologue. Much better in my opinion, and I took every opportunity to develop the _hell _out of the plot. It can only thicken from here.

Better story, better transitions, better... well, everything. I think _basically _everything improved. I tried my best to fix the dialogue and grammar. Now everything is in the proper tense as well. Overall, it should have been a much more enjoyable read.

As you can see, the overall plot did not change. Auros met Red, they bond, and are sucked into another dimension like it was originally. A lot of the building up though has changed. Actually, it's _completely _changed. I like it much better now, to be honest. Much more in-depth for a prologue, and it actually gets me pumped to write more when I read it. This is why I suggested that _everyone _rereads it, because it is practically a whole new story.

Onwards! What happened to Auros and Red? Will they ever return? Are they dead forever? Of course not, there are still many chapters left in the story!


	2. Destined

**:**

_**Fanfiction #4 : Nexus**_

_**Auros Trilogy**_

_Rifted** → Nexus → **Concord_

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_**Introduction**_

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**:::REWROTE:::**

Welcome to Chapter II (Prologue counts as a chapter). I hope you enjoyed the prologue. I think it is much more professionally presented, and I approve of it wholeheartedly.

**Professional **_**'thank you' **_**to my sister who encouraged me to rewrite this**. The grammatical, dialogue, and tense errors were something that really bugged me when she pointed them out.

Also, let me real quick set some of my standards in case you haven't looked at my profile yet. First to note : **I will **_**always **_**represent a character's personality to the best of my ability, and follow the lore as closely as possible.** This is perhaps one of the most important things in a fanfiction, as most readers come to get more content on the character that they _know_, not some messed up version.

With that in mind, Link will be quiet. Red will be cheerful and brave. Lucario will be modest, polite, quiet, have a sense of justice, etc., among various other things. If I am not representing a character to the _best _of my ability, or you think I can do better, PLEASE tell me.

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_**Information**_

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**Updates**

**October 1, 2014 : Revision started**

**October 8, 2014 : Revision finished**

**November 12, 2014 : Minor edits**

I have a specific picture of Auros on my profile, which is how I envision him. I suggest you check that out, along with the other information that is there.

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_**Destined**_

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_**Act I**_

_**Destined : Part I**_

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_Power._

**The bed covers shuffle**, and a man quickly sits up, blinking rapidly to remove the encroaching sleep from his eyes. After several seconds of this, he swings his feet out and off the bed, pressing weight into the floor as he stands.

"Hm," he grunts, walking over to the window. The room was dark, but the moonlight kept a small portion of it brightly lit. He looks out the window, surveying the beautiful landscape below him. It was fairly hilly, except for a smoother portion to the south, the direction his window was facing. In this portion, there was a large valley that had a small river flowing steadily along with it. The valley extended off into the horizon, but was well lit due to the large amount of villages that hugged the sides of it. Even further in the distance, the great forests loomed.

Most of the villages were small, only having around 10 to 20 people in them. The largest was the closest village, one that held nearly 400 people. He would often visit the village, and discuss the current events in the kingdom with them. They always felt enlightened by his presence, as he was practically a hero around these parts.

_A Hero of Time._

"Huh?" he asks himself, looking up as if the unknown voice was coming from above. He shakes his head lightly, before padding over to the nearby wardrobe. He opens the two large doors, pulling out a large garment and several pieces of gear. Within a few minutes, he is changed into the newly produced piece of clothing.

A large green tunic covered him from his neck to his waist, where diluted gray pants took over and went down to his feet, which were protected by large, brown boots. Upon his blond hair sat a long and pointed hat, which fluttered slightly every time he moved. He walks over to a nearby door, opening it and strolling into a large closet. He lights a candle, edging it close to the wall. A large sword reflected the dim light back. He stretches up and grasps the sword by its purple handle, swinging it gracefully down before sheathing it.

On the opposite wall, two more items presented themselves. A large and elegant shield shined in his candlelight, and he grabs it and straps it to his back. To the right of it, there is a expertly crafted bow, infused with magical powers to make it more powerful. He grabs it and places it in a special pouch on the back of his green tunic.

With his gear fixed, he walks back out of the closet and into the room, surveying the landscape once more.

_Courage._

He swings his head around, narrowing his eyes. A slight breeze opened his door, as if an unknown force was subtlety telling him to leave his room. Shrugging, he does just that, walking out into the dim hallway of the castle.

Several candles line the wall, and he walks cautiously down the hallway, pausing several times to listen closely. The candles flicker gently, before all of them wisp away at once. At this sudden action, he unsheathes his sword slowly and holds it up in front of his face. He creeps down the hall, feeling slight twinges of fear.

_Wisdom._

He glances up, expecting to see nothing, but rather is met by a white void above his head where the ceiling would be. Startled, he takes a step backwards and looks around him, but the entire area now has transformed into a white void. He tightens his grip on the sword, watching and waiting.

After several seconds, a glowing light catches his attention, and he turns to it. Before he has any time to study it closer, it suddenly flashes violently, temporarily blinding him. He blinks rapidly, his vision struggling to regain its bearings. When he finally reopens them, he finds himself standing in the same valley he was overlooking before.

Now awash in moonlight once more, his eyes strain to see better in the darkness, and he looks around frantically to find a landmark. His gaze stops when he sees a large, well lit castle in the distance.

The one he was just at.

He raises his gloved hand, staring at it, watching the three triangles on the back of it glow dimly with power. He grips the sword tighter still, with only one hand now, and turns around to see the largest village nearby. Taking the hint, he begins to walk towards it, sword still raised in defense.

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"Explain to me one more time, Kelpos," an exasperated villager says. The village leader turns to him.

"Perhaps I should just write it down. We are running out time, and I don't want to risk homeless new villagers," Kelpos, the leader, responds to him. He picks up a piece of browned paper and begins to scribble words onto it.

"_Eh... 'ey, _Kelpos!" A shout is heard from outside. The village leader looks up, swiveling towards the door and walking to it. He twists the handle, coming face to face with a villager.

"Just saw Link. I believe he wants to talk to you."

Kelpos tilts his head, before nodding. "Very well, if he requires my presence, set up a meeting for us at once."

As he turns away, the villager clears his throat. Kelpos turns around again, but sees Link standing in front of him.

"Oh, I didn't realize he- er, you were here already. Welcome, it's been a while," he says, while bowing. Link nods, before gesturing for everyone to leave besides the village leader. They reluctantly clear the house.

"Kelpos, something happened. I.. I think I'm being called for again," Link says shakily. Kelpos gasps loudly and his eyes widen.

"..W-what? What happened?"

"I was woke up by a voice in my head saying _Power._ I remember it saying _The Hero of Time_, _Courage,_ and _Wisdom_. No doubt that it was associating me with the Triforce, something that only happens when I'm being called for. Something warped me outside of the castle to this village, so... I believe something may happen here..."

Kelpos gulped nervously. "H-here? Should I prepare the villagers?" 

"No! Uh, not yet. I do not want there to be panic. I will go investigate the surrounding area. Go ahead and tell the elders, but make sure that the general public does not figure out."

The village leader nods, rubbing his temples for a moment before walking out the door to gather the village elders. Link follows him, but breaks away to start his search. He hikes up the valley hill, coming out to the top and surveying the entire moonlit area.

He looks to the sky, and watches the stars shine brightly in the distance, some brighter than others. One in particular catches his eye, as it is moving. It slowly arcs over the world, growing more and more intense in brightness. Link narrows his eyes.

The brightness suddenly increases exponentially, and Link whips around as the comet flies directly above. It disappears below a nearby hill, and a couple seconds pass before a flash shines brilliantly from behind the hill. The entire area is lit, before everything darkens once more. A heavy shockwave soon blasts him backwards, sending him flat on his back, accompanied by a ear-shattering _boom._

Link scrambles to his feet, staring in the direction where the comet hit the surface of the land. He turns towards the village, where he can hear shouting and screaming. Ignoring it, he turns back towards the comet and breaks into a sprint towards it.

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_**Destined : Part II**_

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The comet glowed a bright orange, and Link approached with increased caution as it pulsed lowly. At first glance, one would assume it would be heat, but Link could detect the sheer _power_ buried within the fallen comet. He took another step, but halted when the glowing faded away. He narrowed his eyes, when the comet _itself _began to faze out of existence with it.

He took a step back, watching with amazement as the comet became more and more transparent, until there was nothing left in its place.

..._Except _two figures. In the dark moonlight, their general shape was impossible to tell, but he was more astounded by the fact that two figures were nestled within the comet.

Now, Link did not know what to do. He brings up his gloved hand, watching the Triforce still glow dimly to show that it was protecting him, and uses that information for extra courage to take a few more steps forward. When he gets close, he notices that one of the figures _definitely _wasn't Hylian.

In fact, the figure was _much _shorter. It's frame was fairly lithe, and two large ears extended off its head. It had two powerful legs, and what appeared to be spikes coming out of the back of its paws and front of its chest.

Link's well trained eye notices that the creature was breathing normally, and he kneels only mere centimeters from it. He hesitantly reaches out a hand, touching the shoulder of it gently. Despite being prepared, he gasps when the creature's ear twitches violently, and it groans. Link leaps backwards, unsheathing his sword, unnerved by the sudden movement. He sways the Master Sword gracefully in a circle.

The creature doesn't respond, but it does groan again and sit up slowly. Link notices the creature's red eyes when it opens them, and he narrows his own in response. It looks around for a second, but its gaze soon shifts and lands directly on Link. Link brings up his sword, his heart beating fast.

The creature inches forward, closing the distance between Link, which didn't go unnoticed. He tightens his grip on the Master Sword, unholsters his shield and brings it up. The creature notices this, narrowing its own eyes, and comes even closer. When it is only a meter away, Link grunts in frustration.

"Stop! Take no more steps towards me!" he shouts at it. The creature pauses, before lifting an arm and extending his paw so that the palm was facing Link. The paw was dangerously close, and Link felt sweat rolling down his face. The creature got closer, and gently placed his paw on the blade of the sword.

"_HYEAAAA!" _Link shouted, swinging his sword down. He blinks. The creature had disappeared. He stares in the spot for a second, but a sensation from above forces him to look up. A blue figure is approaching – and _fast._

In response, Link quickly raises the Master Sword up, blunt side facing the creature. In the next moment, a resounding _clang _works its way through the sword, into Link's hands, and through his entire body as the figure collides with him. His knees buckle, but stays upright as shockwaves ripple throughout the atmosphere, and his ears begin to ring from the sheer noise and force of the impact.

Finally, the noise stops. Link opens his eyes after realizing that he had subconsciously closed them. He takes a few steps back, staring wide-eyed at the creature who was before him once again. In sheer defiance, Link raises the Master Sword in a defensive position.

The creature's red eyes continue to burn into Link's, but he holds his ground. Once again, the creature takes a few more steps forward, and Link's breathing hitches when the creature extends a paw. Its tail flicks gently.

"_Who are you?"_

Link blinks, the telepathic male voice catching him off guard. He blinks at the creature, who tilts its head.

"...Link?" he responds unsteadily. The creature nods slowly. Link notices the extended paw, and reaches out his hand and grasps it. He gasps at the sudden warmth that overwhelms him, and found the creature's touch _alluring _in some way.

"_Impressive sword that you have there," _it communicates, breaking through Link's trance.

"T-Thanks. Nice.. attack..?" he responds, pulling his hand away. He was unsure of _what _exactly the creature attacked him with.

"_Force Palm," _it says. Link feels a wave of confusion roll over him.

_How did it know what I was thinking?_

"_I can read thoughts and emotions."_

_Oh._

"Oh," Link says out loud, and the creature smiles _ever so slightly._

"_The warmth you felt from me is a result of my aura, also known as my life force. Aura is in everything, and since I can manipulate it, mine is quite strong."_

Link's mouth falls slightly agape, and he shakes his head.

"_Who _are you exactly?" he questions.

"_I am Auros, a Lucario, the Aura Pokémon," _it responds with pride and confidence.

"I see... and _what _is a Pokémon?"

"_I-"_

The Pokémon suddenly doubles in pain, and groans. Link stares at the creature.

"Are you alright?" he asks with concern. Auros trembles for a few moments.

"_I-I'm fine."_

Link refuses to believe him, and walks around to the backside of him. He gasps when he finds that the entire Pokémon's back is covered in blood, some of it dripping to the ground below him. He grasps the shoulder of Auros, causing him to jump.

"You're not fine. Let me take you to the castle," Link whispers, and Auros nods weakly, not resisting. Link whips his head around back to the crash site, suddenly remembering something.

"Wait. What about him?" he asks, gesturing towards the other figure that was with Auros. The Pokémon follows his hand, before shaking his head.

"_H-he isn't injured.. but apparently unconscious. He should probably c-come with us.." _he says, trailing off at the end. Link nods, thinking for a few moments, before releasing Auros slowly and walking over to the other figure.

He was similar in anatomy to the Hylian race, except for his ears: they were rounded, rather than pointed. Humans, Link quickly realized. He grabs the unconscious teenager and throws him over his shoulder, before returning back to the now quivering Auros. He sets an arm around the Aura Pokémon's shoulders, guiding him along the rocky path that leads back to the valley.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Progress is slow, and it is well over an hour later before they finally arrive at the edge of the hills. Link is strong and has much endurance, but the trip takes its toll on him. By the time he reaches the valley, he is completely exhausted. Link looks down at the slope to the village, realizing that it would probably be a good idea if they avoid the villagers. He guides Auros in the direction of the castle, but suddenly the Pokémon begins to slip.

He glances over at him, and notices that his eyes had closed and he had gone completely limp in his arms. Link grunts from the extra weight, and quickly is overwhelmed. Shakily, he sets down the teenager and Auros, stepping back and staring at the two now unconscious figures before him.

_Well, this is just great._

Turning his head, he looks down at the village, shaking his head slowly. He sits for a few minutes, regaining his strength, before lifting up both of them and walking down towards the village.

As Link struggles into the village, he notices that the village leader's house has its lights on. Sighing, he makes a beeline for that, stumbling along as his strength quickly slips away. He reaches the door, and violently slams his foot into it, hard enough to startle everyone inside but not kick the door in. All the voices inside quickly hush, and several awkward moments pass.

Finally, the door clicks and opens, leaving a small enough gap for a villager to poke his head out and stare at Link. He glares back at the villager, whose eyes widen when he notices the two figures slumped over Link's shoulder.

"Well?" Link questions, patience growing thin. When the villager fails to respond, Link forcibly pushes the door in and walks into the building.

The reaction is immediate. Several of the villagers, including the leader, gasp loudly, but Link ignores them and makes his way to the center meeting table. Pushing papers away, he sets Auros down on it and leans the teenager on one of the legs of the table. The villagers continue to watch in stunned silence, and their eyes slowly trail away from the two figures and at Link.

The village leader, Kelpos, is the first to speak.

"Link, what is the meaning of this? Who are they?" he asks, fear in his voice. Link brushes away the question.

"Where's the village doctor?"

A man wearing a brown cloak comes out of the crowd, with a calm expression on his face. He walks up to the table and nods at Link, before looking down at Auros.

"Turn him over," Link says, gritting his teeth. The doctor does so, and stares at the lacerated back of the Pokémon.

"What happened to it?" the doctor asks, simultaneously pulling out a small medical bag.

"I don't know. _He _lost a lot of blood, so make sure to give him a health potion and some strength potions."

The doctor nods, rummaging through his bag for several moments. He pulls out a blue vial and a red vial. Acting quickly, he snatches a roll of bandages and wraps them around Auros, covering all of the wounds. Then, he takes the red potion and gently pries the Pokémon's jaw open, pouring the contents in. He caps the vial, placing it into the bag, before repeating the process with the blue vial.

"There," he says, sifting through his bag again and pulling out a green vial. "Give him this when he awakens, unless you want to clean vomit. Potion sickness, of course."

Link grabs the green vial, before smiling.

"Thank you, doctor," he murmurs.

He turns towards Kelpos and the rest of the villager crowd.

"I must ask all of you to leave, besides Kelpos and the doctor. This will all be explained tomorrow, but you must all get some sleep now."

Reluctantly, the villagers shuffle out of the room. Link looks at the teenager on the ground.

"So..? I don't mean to come off as being pushy, Link, but I think we deserve to know what is going on."

"I'm sorry. I really had to make sure that they would survive. You know our policies better than anyone here, Kelpos," Link says. Kelpos nods. Their policy was made clear to everyone in the village – they never refuse an injured being, whether it is hostile or not. "In that regard, I will tell you what is going on." 

Link takes a deep breath. "His name is Auros. He said something about him being able to manipulate aura, which is his term for what I can only interpret as magic. However, he did say that everything has their own aura. Perhaps it is a different type."

"Anyways, he also mentioned something about a Pokémon, which is a term I've never heard before. I can only assume that its his species," he says. He pauses for a moment, before gesturing at the Aura Pokémon sprawled out on the table. "Whatever he is."

The two other men walk over to the table silently, inspecting the creature laying before them. The doctor is the next to speak up, moving over to the table and putting a hand on Auros.

"I am surprised by quite a few things. First off, look at his tail.." he asserts, gently pushing the Pokémon to the side to expose his tail. "It is the perfect picture of agility. It almost looks like it has been developed over the ages. The downward hook would definitely imply that he has a high level of balance. Now.."

He turns Auros onto his back, pulling the tail out so it isn't crushed. He gently prods the three extruding spikes on the back of Auros's paws, and the middle of his chest. "I have yet to find a reason for the existence of these," he asserts, before pulling out his medical bag and rummaging through it again. He pulls out a small mallet, and gently bangs it against the spike. A gentle _ding _makes its way through the room.

"As you can see, they are clearly metallic. This might imply that his body could be metallic as well, but based on the scratches on his back, this is not the case. My second conclusion is that his body has a certain percentage of metal mixed in, to provide what I can only assume to be extra strength," he says, pausing for a moment to let the words sink in. "Link, Kelpos.. what we have here seems to be a creature that is _literally _built around fighting."

Link breathed out, running a hand through his thick hair. "That's great... I don't think the villagers were very content about him the first place, but now..?"

He sighs. "Keep it a secret. Obviously, the villagers will want to know, but you must tell them that he is only a creature. You can't tell them about all of his... powers."

The doctor and Kelpos simultaneously nod, but the latter suddenly freezes.

"Hold on, Link. I just realized.. you said that h- Auros.. Auros spoke to you?"

Link tilts his head, before letting out an 'Ah!'.

"Yes, he spoke to me. I forgot to mention – he can communicate via telepathy. So... he is sentient."

The two villagers absorb the information, and they stare at the Pokémon.

"Wow... so this just got much more serious... I am surprised, though, that he understood our language," the doctor whispers. Link narrows his eyes.

"Now that you say that, I realize that is quite odd. Especially considering he probably didn't come from this world, since he arrived by a comet."

The doctor and Kelpos both gasp out loud.

"Link! How much more important information do you plan on keeping from us?" the village leader hisses. Link laughs and shakes his head, shrugging.

"So.. he is not of this world, he has powers that are extremely strong, and he is sentient. Anything else, Link?" Kelpos asks, agitated.

Link thinks for a moment about telling them about his brief scuffle with Auros, but brushes it away. He doesn't want to worry them.

"No. Perhaps you two should get some sleep too. It's very late, and I need you well rested for tomorrow. People will want explanation."

They both consider this, before nodding. "Alright, Link. One more thing though-" the doctor says, pausing and pointing at the teenager. "What's the deal with the human?"

Link follows his finger, and shrugs. "I'm still unsure of that. He arrived in the comet with Auros, so I can only assume he's not of this world either. What interests me even more then that, of course, is the fact that he is not even damaged. The other one, with an apparent mixture of steel in his body, sustained heavy damage. The boy did not. Any idea on how this could have happened?"

The doctor and village leader glance at each other, then sigh. The doctor looks back at Link. "No idea. Maybe Auros can explain to us when he wakes up. Promise me you'll watch him until he wakes up. Make sure you administer the counter for the potion sickness really quick, or you'll regret it."

Link smiles and nods. "Alright. I really appreciate the help you two. Go on now, I'll watch over them. Get some rest."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Destined : Part III**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Hah.."

A whisper echoes through the room, forcing the light-sleeping Link's eyes open. He sits up in the chair that he accidentally fell asleep in, and looks at the table in the center of the room.

"H-hah..."

Another breath comes out of the Pokémon in the center of the table, and Link quickly stands up and rushes over to him.

"_HAH!"_

The Pokémon sits up suddenly, letting out another breathy noise. Link pops the cork on the green vial, propping the sickly creature's mouth open and pouring it in hastily. Auros's face contorts for several seconds, and Link is half worried that he'll vomit anyways. But the Pokémon's face softens and his shoulders relax. He looks over at Link with confused eyes, before looking around the entire room several times.

"_W-where am I? Link..?" _he communicates. Link blinks several times, remembering about the telepathy.

"Auros, I am here. Calm down, I brought you to a village. You needn't worry at this moment, all you need to do is rest. Your wounds are healing, you'll be fine," Link says, soothingly. Auros nods, gulping quietly and laying back down on the table. He is trembling slightly, and Link rests a hand between his ears, trying to calm him.

Several silent minutes pass, and the Pokémon's trembling eventually ceases. Auros shifts uncomfortably, and Link pulls his hand back, prompting a groan from the Pokémon.

Auros slowly pushes down on the table, putting himself into a sitting position. His vision swims around, rolling and swirling chaotically. Shaking, he places a leg on the floor and puts weight on it, but gasps when he falls off the table and onto his paws and feet. Link kneels next to him, whispering something that Auros is unable to hear.

He raises his voice. "Just _stay _here, Auros," he says, getting to his feet and briskly moving to the washroom. In there, he grabs a washcloth and wets it, along with a small dagger and another roll of bandages. He comes out, seeing Auros trembling again, and drops to one knee next to him. He takes the blade and quickly cuts away the bandages, revealing the bloody mess on his back. Next, he takes the cold washcloth and runs it across the Pokémon's back gently, eliciting a gasp out of him. He repeats this several times, and Auros shakes his head, trying to clear away the horrifying feeling of his dignity slipping away.

_This is it. I have reached my lowest point. _

His thoughts become scrambled once more as Link pulls the cloth away and takes out the bandages. He begins to wrap them around the lithe body, finishing his work speedily, leaving the Pokémon somewhat cleaner.

Auros groans lowly, letting his teeth chatter from the unexplainable cold that courses through his body, and gasps when he feels Link's hands wrap around him and pick him up. His feet dangle, his shorter height allowing Link to fully lift him off the ground and hold him close, as Link makes his way over to the bedroom and lays Auros on the warm bed.

The sudden comfort has effect almost immediately, and Link smiles when the Pokémon's eyes begin to droop, and eventually drift off to sleep. Link was universally known for his kindness towards any living thing, as long as it didn't harm the ones he loved. This applied to animals, though he was unsure if that was even a proper term for Auros at this point.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"_This needs to stop, Auros."_

"_What do you want? Haven't you brought enough pain to my life already?"_

"_You don't understand the concepts of how we work. Humans are just like this. What is so hard to understand about that?"_

"_EVERYTHING! You would willingly kill members of your own species to advance your own interests? ...What is this? Why are there so many people?"_

"_Auros, if you don't stop acting this way, things just.. wont work out." _

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_SLAM_

Auros's eyes flutter open at an alarming rate, and he jumps out of the bed. The blood rushes to his head, and he groans, grasping the sides of his head and waiting a few moments for the headache to subside. Harsh midday light pierces through the window. Once the headache is gone, he suddenly notices the shouting in the other room.

"He's a _THREAT_, Link."

"I don't care what you think. You know our policies."

"To hell with the policies. He's going to _kill _all of us, if you don't remove him from the village at once."

"He is _not _strong enough yet. Let him recover for a little bit more."

The shouting continues. Auros saddens when he realizes that he's the subject of the argument, and he turns back towards the bed. Surprisingly, he finds Red laying there, sleeping peacefully.

He pads over to Red's side of the bed, leaning down so that their faces were close. He tilts his head.

"_Red?" _

The teenager's eyes snap open, and when he makes eye contact with Auros, he screams and flails out of the bed, landing with a loud _thud _on the ground. Auros takes a step back, kneeling down next to Red with concern.

"_Red, are you okay?"_

Red blinks, and looks at Auros, before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, I'm fine! Good Arceus man, you have _got _to be careful with that kind of stuff. Where are we, anyways? Didn't we get sucked into some ultimate portal of doom, or something like that?"

"_Yes, but we came out into this strange land. There are people outside of this room, and.. they're not human." _

Auros freezes, closing his eyes and letting the aura receptors on the back of his head raise and vibrate softly. He shifts his vision to the outside of the room, and notices that the villagers have lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, staring at their room.

_Hmph. Guess Red's scream caught their attention._

One of the villagers stares at Link, and walks confidently over to the door. Link tells him to stop, but the villager opens the door.

Red stands up, staring at the villager, and Auros stays seated, watching the scene through his aura vision. Emotions begin to flicker throughout both parties. The villagers, who have now piled behind the first one to see inside the room, all seem to be displaying confusion, anger, and some amount of fear. Link was displaying primarily anger, and Red was displaying just confusion.

"Who are you?!" Red shouts, taking Auros by surprise. He nearly loses his concentration. The villagers seem just as surprised by the sudden outburst, but regain their composure.

"Better question kid – who are _you?" _one of them growls. Red's eyes widen for a second, but he shakes his head.

"I'm Red. Legendary Pokémon Trainer, I've conquered the Elite Four in every single region, and have eight gym badges from each one of prove it!" he says proudly, digging in his bag and producing several envelopes. He opens up all of them, revealing dozens of gym badges.

The villager's anger and fear slowly ebb away, replaced by primarily confusion now. They glance between the badges and Red's face, attempting to make sense of the situation and words that Red used. Finally, the one who opened the door speaks up.

"I... what does that even mean? What _'gyms' _are you talking about?"

Red scoffs, shaking his head and stuffing the envelopes back into his bag. He pulls out a Poké Ball.

"You see this? It's a Pokémon Ball. Inside, it holds a special creature that is great for attacking, and some even consider friends. Pokémon are basically creatures that have lots of special powers, and can learn many and even evolve into cooler forms. Watch this."

He presses the button on the ball, causing it to become several times larger. Many of the villagers gasp at this and take a step back, causing Red to smirk. He drops the ball to the ground, and a white light emerges from it. Some villagers shield their eyes, others too amazed to even think of such a complex task. The light fades away, leaving behind a large, dark-furred Pokémon in its place. It has a large, elegant mane and several red claws from its hands and feet.

"This here is my Pokémon, Zoroark."

Silence. The villagers stare at the Pokémon, and Zoroark stares back, just as confused. He steals a glance at Red, then looks in the general direction of the hiding Auros, as if he knew that the Aura Pokémon was there.

Suddenly, a villager lets out an ear-splitting scream, and the overcrowded room descends into chaos. People begin to shuffle about, trying to get away or get a closer look at the new Pokémon, and Auros growls lowly, losing his patience. He is about to stand up when a loud shout is heard, causing many of the villagers to freeze.

"I want you all out. Now."

They turn, seeing Link standing there with the Master Sword unsheathed. Auros is the only one to notice slight tremors going through his body. The villagers begin to walk out, but one of them stops suddenly.

"No. I refuse to leave. Not until those two.. or three, are _gone."_

Inspired, the rest of the villagers also shout, and they begin clamoring around Link and getting too close for comfort. Auros notices sweat pouring from Link's face, and his patience runs out.

In the next instant, he leaps from his hiding spot and lowers his head, before _ramming _into the crowd of villagers and sending several of them flying. Several of the villagers back away, staring at their unconscious comrades, before the room _really _descends into chaos.

Hylians of all types begin to fling themselves at Auros, throwing rage-induced punches and kicks at the Pokémon. He covers his head, his resiliency allowing him to not feel pain or even sustain damage from the hits. He simply sits there, allowing himself to be hit over and over.

"HEY!"

The villagers cease their relentless assault, turning to the voice of the teenager. Red narrows his eyes, before turning to the dark-type next to him.

"Zoroark, Scary Face, NOW!" he shouts, holding up two fingers. He angles his hand down, pointing at the villagers as if he was modeling a pistol, and the Pokémon nods. In the next instant, all of the villagers, including Link, drop to their knees and begin to tremble violently in fear. The horrifying illusion left by Zoroark subdued the villagers, and Auros stands up, not even showing any signs of pain. Red stares at the Aura Pokémon, before shrugging.

Auros runs over to Link, and grasps his hand. The warmth of his aura immediately snaps Link out of his trance, and he looks around wildly. The aura emanating from Auros's paw calms him, and he stands up quickly, releasing his paw.

"Whatever you did, thanks. It seems to have worked," he says, pointing at the still-trembling villagers. They stand there for several moments, before Link walks over to the door and lifts the metal bar that had been placed to keep out the others.

The others being the other half of the village population who _did _support their policy of taking in any injured being. The others who, as soon as Link released the lock, barged their way in, anger seared on their faces. Kelpos was at the head of them.

"Guards! Arrest all of the villagers in here, at once!" he barks. Several guards nod and rush over to the villagers, binding their hands together with rope and hauling them away.

"..I am so, so sorry about this Link, Auros, and..." he stares at Red, opening and closing his mouth. Red shrugs.

"Red."

"Ah, sorry. Red. I'm sorry. They overwhelmed the guards that I had posted on the door, and we were trying so hard to get in once we heard the commotion," he states. Several moments later, he notices Zoroark standing in the corner, looking somewhat sheepish.

"Oh. Uh.." he trails off, not sure how to continue. Auros quickly steps in.

"_It is another Pokémon. Such as me." _

"Speaking of which – what is a Pokémon? I mean.. you've mentioned it several times now," Kelpos quickly asks, not wanting to losing the opportunity. Red grabs a Poké Ball from his belt.

"See this? It's a Pokémon Ball. A Pokémon is a creature that fights for its master when it is trained. They have many special powers that make them very versatile fighting 'tools', as some would call them, but to me they are all friends," he says, smiling and scratching Zoroark's head. "My Pokémon and I have developed close bonds, as you can see."

He takes the Pokémon ball and gently tosses it at the dark-type, capturing it with a red light and bouncing back to Red. Kelpos and the villagers nod slowly, attempting to understand the technology.

"Ah.. and Auros is on your team, right?"

Auros looks at Red, and Red looks at Auros. They make a silent exchange of words.

"...Yes," Red says slowly, not wanting to over-complicate the situation.

"Why is he not in a Pokémon ball like the others on your team, then?" Kelpos presses with genuine curiosity. Red shrugs in response.

"Some Pokémon just prefer to be out of the devices. I don't blame them."

They all stand there for a couple more moments, and the silence is almost overwhelming for the villagers when Auros steps up.

"_I wanted to address you all on our sudden visit. I apologize for intruding and causing this turmoil," _he says solemnly, bowing lightly. Link retreats to the rest of the villagers, while Red stands next to Auros.

"Not like you could help it. We have a very strict policy that I _wish _those other villagers would have abided by, which is that we _never _refuse any injured being. That being was you, and you might have died without our help."

"_I see. I thank you for that, too. Was Red injured as well?"_

Kelpos shakes his head. "Nope, only you showed any visible damage."

Auros tilts his head. _"That's... odd. Especially since my body is stronger than a human's."_

The doctor emerges from the crowd, holding the same medical bag as the night before.

"I was the one who healed you," he says quickly, extending a hand.

Auros bows, taking the hand and shaking it.

"I simply have no idea how it happened," he says, turning to Red. "There simply was no way that he could have not sustained any damage. I suppose that's a good thing, but it still befuddles me."

Kelpos interjects. "Whatever the case may be, I think the more pressing issue right now is what we're going to do with Auros and Red. I don't think they can stay here."

Link nods. "I know. Once we're done here, I'm bringing them to the castle. They will be much safer there."

Kelpos breathes a sigh of relief, wiping away the sweat that had been inexplicably building up there.

"Good. I'll call another meeting today and clear everything up."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Destined : Part IV**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Auros lets his gaze sweep the area, scanning the various walls of the large stone structure that stood before him.

"This is the Hyrule castle," Link says, beckoning a guard. The guard approaches, grasping his spear confidently, and casting a wary glance at both Auros and Red.

"These two are not of this world. I need you to explain to the castle population that they are here, and to expect them. I'll explain this more in detail later."

The guard nods, and takes off. Link sighs.

"Do not take this personally, but your presence is really shaking things up. We haven't had a bad event in... well, since I was young," he explains, continuing to stroll along the path towards the castle. Auros and Red follow behind him, listening closely. "Many years ago, an evil wizard named Agahnim took the princess of these lands, named Hyrule, like the castle. Her name is Princess Zelda, and she had the power to break a seal placed hundreds of years ago on a malevolent power known as Ganon. She telepathically called me forth, and I freed her. There were six others who were also needed to break the seal, and Agahnim already took them, so I had to free them as well. I chased him down and defeated him, before traveling and defeating Ganon as well. He held the Triforce, a special symbol that grants the user godlike abilities. Courage, Wisdom, and Power."

He holds up his gloved hand, and Auros watches as three golden triangles glow dimly.

"I am the current holder of the Triforce, and it can be used to wish away anything. It must be used only in dire circumstances, though. I used it to wish away all of the evil that Ganon brought forth, and restored the lands to their current status. We've been prospering ever since."

Auros and Red simultaneously nod, consuming the information and deciphering it carefully. Several moments of silence pass as they walk, entering a large hall with white tile. Torches line both sides of the hall, and Link abruptly stops in front of a door.

"Guest room. You can sleep here for now until I figure out something more permanent. I should go and tell Princess Zelda about you now, so I'll leave you be to explore the castle. Please don't cause a revolution," he says with a sad smile. Before they can say anything, he turns and heads off down the hall.

Red looks at Auros. "I'm going to the forest to train. Want to come?"

Auros shakes his head. _"I'd rather not. I would like to explore the castle, like Link suggested."_

"Oh, that's his name?"

He looks up in surprise, noticing Red's curious expression. He tilts his head.

"_Y-you didn't know his name..?"_

"Or really anything else about this place for that matter. I wasn't exactly told much.." he sighs out. Auros shakes his head, not exactly proud of himself. He opens his mouth.

"_I dug into Link's memories and thoughts, and I managed to figure it out by myself anyways. This land is named 'Hyrule', and Link, the Hero of Time..."_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Auros pushes gently on the door, causing it to creak nosily as he emerges into the small courtyard of the castle. He notices several Hylians look up and stare at him, confused for a moment, before recognition fills their faces. They go back to conversing with each other. Shrugging, Auros travels over to the fountain that is gracefully erupting streams of water into the pool below, and peers into it. The water ripples gently, giving him a distorted reflection of himself.

He slumps down to the ground, with his back against the cold stone of the fountain, and sighs.

_Meditation time._

Auros closes his eyes, allowing his senses to slowly shut themselves down, and his mind to clear. Memories and flashbacks viciously make their way through him one last time, and he shudders from the sensation. Once his mind is completely clear, he allows himself to be fully consumed by the trance.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"_Huh.. where am I?"_

"_This... looks too familiar. I can't figure it out..."_

_I look out on the landscape before me. Everything seems so vivid, and.. lucid. I recall going into a meditative stance near the fountain, at the Hyrule Castle. Good, now I know this is present._

_Still, as I look out on the expanse, I can't help but notice the pangs of nostalgia crashing through my mind right now. The swamp, the jungle, the small hut.. it all seems so recognizable._

_And then I feel pain. Real pain, which would signify that this is definitely a vision. One that is being projected to me right now without my consent. My only explanation would be Arceus, of course._

_It might be worth it to mention that my life is 'tormented' by Arceus. I like to call it... involuntary inter-dimensional traveling. Though, somehow, I know that the only reason he is doing it, is so he can help me. Or perhaps he is using me. Whatever the case may be, I am completely at his mercy._

_The pain subsides finally. I gasp for air, trying to relieve some of the stress and tension. I closed my eyes when I was in pain, but I don't remember doing so directly. I let them open themselves, white, piercing light trying to work its way into my skull._

_The white light clears, and I choke. My red eyes soften, and I stop breathing. My chest contracts several times, and I feel like I'm about to have some sort of internal organ failure._

_I flinch violently when I feel his hand on my shoulder, and I don't know why. After all, this _is _someone who I never thought I would see again. Except in my nightmares._

_Indigo. He smiles at me._

_The name slams into my mind like a ton of bricks, and I think at some point I just start to sob. In misery, in sorrow, in deep regret. Most of all, I break down because I missed him._

_He saved my life._

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Uh... hello? ..Are you alright?"

Auros groans, blinking rapidly. He sits up, letting his head loll about for a moment, before regaining control of his senses. As he looks up, he notices several pairs of eyes staring back at him, with curious and concerned expressions painted upon them.

He jumps up in panic, his tail swaying in the wind to help maintain his balance after waking up so quickly. He stares wildly at them, but they don't react other than taking a step back after he jumped up.

Slowly, he realizes that they aren't there to attack him. Auros drops his paws, which he realizes that he subconsciously raised into a fighting stance. He looks at his paw as a flame-like aura dies away. When he looks back up, he notices that a couple of them have taken additional steps back.

"..Sorry. We didn't mean to frighten you. You just.. you began thrashing, then we came over and you were just sobbing in your sleep. None of us.. really knew what to do," a Hylian says carefully. Auros gasps and whips a paw up to his face, feeling the wetness. He blushes in shame as he desperately wipes away the tears.

"Y-you can talk, right? I mean.. can you even understand us?" one of the Hylians asks. Auros stares at them for a few seconds, then nods.

"_I-I.. can communicate. With.. telepathy," _Auros chokes out, still regaining his composure. The person who asked nods. A guard comes up, worried, and then spots the Aura Pokémon.

"Is everything alright?" he asks. Several of the people murmur 'yes'.

"Good. Leave him alone, Link doesn't want you guys crowding him."

Reluctantly, they walk away, returning to their original groups and positions. Auros shakes his head weakly, trying to make sense of the vision. To him, it was incredibly clear, but the meaning was quite the opposite.

"_What are you doing!?"_

Auros jumps, the sudden flashback taking him by surprise. He growls in frustration, catching the attention of a few of the people. He jumps up several stories, easily landing on a lowered portion of the roof on the castle, and ignoring the bewildered expressions and gasps of the people below.

He nimbly climbs the rest of the way up, using his aura to stick to the walls if they were too high. It only took a couple of minutes before he reaches the highest point on the castle, a large spire that overlooked the entire landscape. To the south, he sees a large and beautiful valley wandering lazily towards the horizon, with several large villages dotting it. To the east, he finds a large and lustrous forest, where Red was most likely training. To the north, he noticed several large mountains with snow-capped peaks, piercing through several lower clouds.

Finally, to the west, he breathes out slowly. A _huge _city filled with people is sprawled out, extending from the castle and into the horizon. Auros notices that most of the buildings don't actually extend higher than one or two floors, and that the city is built horizontally rather than vertically. Which made Auros question if they actually had the technology to do so.

He flicks his tail, brushing away the question for a later date. Instead, he climbs to the spire that extended from the tower he was on, easily reaching the point of it and balancing on one toe. Auros lets his tail gently sway in the wind, and crosses his arms and closes his eyes for the perfect picture of balance and agility. He breathes in and out deeply.

_..Indigo.._

_Why?_

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_**Next Chapter**_

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_My best friend. I had not experienced anything like him. My past extended long and far, with the terrible incidents involving my family and friends taking charge of my emotions. And he saved me._

_But now.. it's all gone. And because of what he just did to me, I think.. _

_..I think I hate him._

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_**Closure**_

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Note : Told you Red was one confident guy :D.

I need to explain. Today, in Integrated World History and Literature (a class I'm taking), we discussed the Roman Republic / Empire for _TWO _hours. I came home and immediately began writing the village scene. I have derived _most _of my ideas for that from our lesson today. With other inspirations, such as a particular episode from Star Trek : The Next Generation.

This is why you may have noticed that some of the characters may have Latinesque(?) names. I may have also borrowed some names from some roleplays I've participated in. Like I said though – I _want _to keep the lore as close as possible, so I did use some Hylian names if I could remember them.

In terms of word count, this chapter is shorter than the original version. However, that is because the introduction and closure were much, much longer. Plus, it had a recap AND a longer 'next chapter' section. Believe me, there is much more content in the rewrote version.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed!


	3. Despair

**:**

_**Fanfiction #4 : Nexus**_

_**Auros Trilogy**_

_Rifted** → Nexus → **Concord_

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_**Introduction**_

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**:::REWROTE:::**

The introduction for this chapter used to be _way _too long (approx. 2,000 words to be precise). I don't know why, but I even put a Q&A section in it. A bit too early for that, Soof.

Anyways, the general trend now is for me to keep the introductions fairly short, so that's what I am doing.

Last chapter saw Auros have one of his first visions. Who knows what it could signify? If you've already read the original chapters, then you already know! Sorry :/

Anyways, I think I'm going to remaster one of my songs and fix some of the errors, and release it as the "official" song for this fanfiction. Not sure how I plan on doing that quite yet, but I like it annnnd I think it fits well. Actually, it would fit _Rifted _better, but that's not out yet.

Also, I've done quite a bit of planning and I _can _confirm that I do know the general themes and morals for this part of the Auros Trilogy. I also know the themes for the prequel / sequel to this one, and the general plan for how the story will go. It's actually very tempting to start on the third one already, but I really should wait.

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_**Information**_

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**Updates**

**October 8, 2014 : Revision started**

**October 19, 2014 : Revision finished**

**November 12, 2014 : Minor edits**

I have a specific picture of Auros on my profile, which is how I envision him. I suggest you check that out, along with the other information that is there.

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_**Despair**_

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_**Act I**_

_**Despair : Part I**_

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**Many blankets and pillows tremble **briefly, before being violently tossed to the floor in a giant heap. Auros sits up in the bed, panting heavily.

_Another nightmare. Take it easy._

He breathes in and out in quick, rapid breaths, allowing himself to regain composure. The floorboards creak and groan under his feet when he stands up, swaying gently and recovering from the nightmare, which was rapidly fading away.

Shaking his head, he walks over to the window and peers outside, looking at the misty landscape outside of the castle, bathed in early morning sunlight.

_Still the same._

_SLAM_

Auros jumps, whipping around and getting really sick of all the sudden outbursts of noise. He looks at Red, who is just as surprised to see him.

"Oh, Auros! I didn't expect you to be awake finally," he says enthusiastically. Auros blinks. "Uh.. I was finished training and I came back and found you sleeping in the bed. I just slept on the chair, since I didn't want to wake you."

Auros scans the room, not seeing a chair. Red notices this.

"Oh, it was nothing special, just a plastic chair. Don't be jealous now," he says, smiling. Auros nods weakly.

"_You shouldn't have slept in a plastic chair. I would have been perfectly fine with waking up."_

_Especially with such haunting nightmares._

"Oh.. well, thanks Auros! I guess.." he says, trailing off in thought. After a few minutes, Auros impatiently twitches his tail, tapping it softly on the ground.

"...Right. I was going to train again, and take Link with me to watch. You want to come?" Red asks. Auros thinks about it for a moment, before shaking his head.

"_No thank you. I looked around the castle yesterday; now, I will look around the outskirts of it."_

"You sure that Link would be alright with that?"

"_I believe so."_

"Well, suit yourself then," Red finishes, turning around and exiting the room without another word.

"_Hm,"_ Auros mumbles to himself, subconsciously following him towards the castle exit. Once they pass through the gates, they immediately go separate ways. Red heads towards the forest, while Auros moves towards the valley and the village.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It is only a few more hours before Auros reaches his destination, a small creek that broke off from the main river in the valley. The area around the creek is heavily forested, giving Auros adequate cover to practice.

Moments later, several small animals scatter away, as a powerful energy ball is launched at the ground. A satisfying explosion occurs, sending earth and grass flying in multiple directions.

_It has been a while._

Auros brings his paws together and closes his eyes, allowing aura to channel through his body and into his arms. He grunts as the aura is forced out of his paws and shaped into a bone-like staff, and he spins it quickly and elegantly. He braces himself as he increases the speed of the spinning, to the point where its causing a slight gale where he is standing. Soon, it is spinning so quickly that it just looks like a white and blue shield, impenetrable to anything that tries to get through.

He manages to keep it spinning for ten minutes, before slowing it down and dissipating it, overcome with exhaustion. The wind dies down, and Auros leans back against a tree, panting.

"_They shouldn't see us coming. If you strike first Auros, we won't HAVE to take many casualties."_

_"I'd prefer none.."_

Auros snaps his eyes open, the flashback fading away, as he hears a quiet rustle that would require exceptional hearing. He looks in the direction of the rustle, switching to aura vision and scanning the area. He notices a Hylian, crouching behind a large bush, a spear equipped in his hand. Not bothering to risk it, Auros quickly acts.

He jumps at the bush using Extreme Speed, taking the man by complete surprise and sending him – and his spear – sprawling on the ground several meters away.

The man groans and shakes his head, coughing from the dust kicked up by the sudden confrontation. A weight pressed on all his limbs gives him reason to open his eyes, and he sees a blue and black furred creature looking at him with a scowl, pinning all of his limbs on the ground with its own.

"H-hey! Get off me!" he shouts at the creature, attempting to struggle free of its grasp.

Auros presses down harder on him, causing him to whimper and cease his resisting.

"_Mind telling me your intentions? Or should I force them out of you instead?" _he asks with a dangerous tone. The man stares back up at him with wide eyes.

"Uhm.. you can talk?"

Auros knees him in the leg, causing him to shout in pain.

"Alright! Fine, I was only in the area hunting for rabbits. I didn't want to harm you," he says, shutting his eyes tightly. Auros narrows his own eyes, seeing through the lie immediately. He dives into the man's brain, scanning his thoughts and emotions with his aura. Memories, recent discussions, his trip to this area, and other useless things pass through Auros's mind. Finally, he comes to the incident where he was hiding in the bushes.

_I bet his fur coat will sell for quite a bit!_

The man's thought flashes through Auros's mind very fast, but he catches it regardless. Although it isn't required – and certainly not recommended – he literally _rips _the thought from the man's mind to keep it as his own. The man lets out a howl of pain and bangs the back of his head against the ground.

"_Lying to me is _never _a good idea."_

Auros holds him there for a few more seconds, before easing off his limbs and climbing off him. The man scrambles up to his feet, and casts one more glance at Auros before stumbling away into the forest. Auros watches with a smirk, glad to have taught the man a lesson, but the smirk quickly falls away when he notices that not one, but _four _men were now approaching him. He bends his knees, and raises his arms and paws into a battle stance.

As he suspected, four men emerge from the forest into the clearing, and Auros narrows his eyes and looks at each of them long and hard, one by one. They each seemed to shudder every time Auros stared at them.

"_Well?" _he starts, but notices that one of the men already has lunged at him. A large sword is in his hand, and it quickly approaches the Aura Pokémon. Before it makes contact though, Auros springs upward, reaching heights that exceed a ten story building. All of the men stare upwards, placing a hand on their forehead to shield their eyes from the sun, and watch as the Pokémon lands lightly on the ground.

Not a moment later, a paw slams into the man who thrust a sword at him, and aura is violently channeled into his back. He is sent flying forward, and slams into a tree. The man slumps down on the ground, his head lolling about as he is sent into an unconscious state. Auros turns to the other men, who are staring at him, completely dumbfounded. In response, Auros growls lowly to display his anger.

Nobody makes a move.

"_Who _are you?" one of them asks. The Aura Pokémon cocks his head, before nodding and dropping his battle stance.

"_I am Auros, the Aura Pokémon."_

With that, Auros telepathically sends information about what that means to their minds, and their eyes all widen at the sensation. As quickly as the information link started, he shuts it off and they all nod understandingly.

"So what about our friend? I mean, he's... not doing so good by the looks of it."

"_He hasn't sustained any injuries, but he may experience some discomfort," _Auros communicates, huffing and turning away, crossing his arms. _"But don't expect me to help you carry him back."_

He walks away from the confused group of men, retreating back to his original position near the creek. Secretly, he watches them using his aura vision as they gather up their fallen comrade and carry him away. After he is sure that they are gone, he drops the aura vision and sighs. The only noises are the constant sings of the birds and the gentle rushing of the water. Auros leans over the creek, peering at his face through the reflection displayed in it. As expected, he sees an everyday, normal old Lucario looking back.

After a few moments spent in deep thought, he pulls away and stands up. The wind begins to pick up, and the forest becomes noisy with the rustling of the leaves overhead. Auros moves forward once more.

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_**Despair : Part II**_

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A leaf crunches underneath a powerful black foot, as Auros parts the last bushes separating him from the small wooded area around the creek and the rest of the valley. He looks cautiously left and right, and giving the area one last scan with aura. Being seen by those same people would not be ideal.

"_Behind us! Enemies!"_

Auros shakes his head of the memory. He walks out of the forest, into the moonlit valley. Soft crickets and heavy wind fill the void of night, giving him good cover in the darkness. Ahead, he can see the large village that him, Red, and Link were at the other day. Lanterns light the area around it, giving the village a gentle yellow glow.

Moving forward again, it is not long before Auros arrives at the village. He takes a moment to scan it, noting the heavy landscaping and beautifying done to keep the place in pristine condition. Stone paths snake around the entire village, connecting houses and businesses alike. Tall posts with seemingly eternal lanterns burn autonomously, keeping the area safe. Huge flower gardens and occasional fountains dot the area in the village.

Auros stops on the stone path, peering over the fountain and into the water, admiring it. Various shiny objects lay in the bottom of the pool of the fountain, sparkling in the moonlight at certain angles.

"Hey!" a child's voice rings out, and Auros's quick reflexes respond instantly. He springs backwards into one of the flower gardens, pressing his front to the ground as he observes a young child approach the spot he'd been standing. The child stops and looks around, confused that the figure he had seen is completely gone.

It is at this point that Auros scans the child's emotions, and realizes that the prominent ones are fear, sadness, and confusion. When he looks at the child again, he notices that it had started to cry.

Slowly, Auros stands up and emerges from the bushes, and approaches the unaware child. He crosses the child's vision, stopping in front of him and kneeling. The child looks up in surprise.

"Y-you're Auros, right?" he says, sniffling. Auros nods.

"_Yes. What is it that ails you?" _Auros responds with curiosity. The child sniffles again.

"I don't know where my parents are.." he says solemnly. Auros pauses for a moment, then closes his eyes and nods quietly to himself.

_Parents..._

"_Would you like me to find them?" _he says sadly, his own memories too painful to even recall.

The child jumps up and lets out a shout of happiness. "Please!" he responds, a smile widening on his face. The burst of joy makes Auros smile faintly in return. "By the way, my name is Arnet."

"_Alright then, Arnet," _Auros says._ "Follow me."_

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Arnet directs Auros to the forest, and they proceed there. Their trek is not long; it is only a couple minutes before they arrive on the outskirts of the so-called 'Great Forest'. Arnet looks on in distress.

"How are we ever going to find them, Auros? It's such a huge place..." he trails off. Auros only smiles.

"_Don't worry, I have my ways." _

With that, Auros drops to a knee and concentrates, allowing his aura receptors on the back of his head to rise and softly vibrate. The area is soon awash in aura to him.

What he failed to expect, though, was the _sheer evil _in the area. He gasps loudly and falls backward, his aura vision fading away and the concerned face of a young Hylian soon appearing above him.

"Are you okay?" he asks in a childish voice. Auros grunts and nods, pushing up onto his knees again.

"_Just.. something unexpected. Hold on." _

Auros enters his aura vision once more, prepared this time, still almost failing to keep his concentration.

All around them, the area is awash in _red _aura, rather than the usual blue aura. This would signify something with malicious intent, but...

_I've never seen this much evil in one place before._

Auros takes a step back as a wisp of evil rapidly approaches him. He gasps as it strikes him, but it only bounces off and continues on its way. He looks over at Arnet, who is staring ahead in dullness, as wisps of evil strike him and bounce off as well.

He looks forward once more, into the forest, and the red wisps darken to crimson, signifying a larger presence. Daring himself, he pushes his vision forward and deeper into the forest, as the red deepens. Soon, it is a very dark purple, when it stops. Past the dark purple spot, the red creeps back in. Auros realizes that the dark purple aura that he saw was the source of it, as the darker the aura is, the higher the evil.

Now retreating his vision, he stares at the dark-purple spot, and makes a horrifying revelation.

"_It's moving towards the village!" _he shouts unintentionally. Arnet, accustomed to the silence, jumps.

"What do you mean?" he asks, his voice tipped with fear. But Auros had no time to explain. He opens his eyes and stares into the forest, now physically _seeing _the source of the evil aura.

A large, metallic.. _creature_, was approaching them. Painted a silvery/chrome color, it was several stories high and had bulky limbs. Its face didn't have any significant features other than a red dot in the middle, which seemed to be burning directly into Auros as he stared at it. Its stomps became noticeable as it came closer. Most likely out of intimidation, it began to swing its arms and slam the trees around it, sending them flying in the air.

Auros growls and pushes Arnet back, who is frozen in fear. He steps forward challengingly toward the creature, which has stopped itself and is now 'staring' back at him. Not wasting his chance, Auros makes the first move.

He propels himself upward, much higher than the height of the creature. He lands on the back of its head, creating a hollow _thunk _as his feet pummels it. Climbing higher, Auros places a paw on the back of its neck and closes his eyes, before channeling some energy through his arm and to his paw. The ensuing Force Palm attack sends Auros backwards, and he lands on the ground gracefully and lightly. He looks up at the metal creature, and notices that it had not been affected by his attack. He shakes his head.

_Tough._

He sprints forward before the bulky creature can make a move, and jumps to the same spot on the back of his neck. Now angry, he _slams _a paw into it, and channels as much aura as possible into the same spot as before. This time, he is propelled backwards, not able to land properly as he twists his body and slams into several trees, and finally skidding to a stop. He groans and tilts his head up, noticing that once more, the creature wasn't harmed. If anything, he just pissed it off _more._

_Very.. tough._

He stumbles upward, staring at the creature. This time, though, the creature _does _take the opportunity, and Auros watches a slow fist lunge forward at him. He holds out his paws and channels aura to them, creating a powerful bone staff. The Bone Rush attack is used as defense as the creature's large fist strikes the staff, creating a loud _clap_.

Auros takes a step back, and a bit of sweat drips off his face. The punch had taken a _lot _of his energy to withhold. Refusing to take risks, he holds out his other paw and forms an equally strong bone staff. Now wielding two, he holds them up and rapidly spins them using his paws and aura. Only after a couple seconds, does he manage to have both of them spinning fast enough that they look like white shields. The creature seems enraged by this, and lunges forward once more.

Its other fist hits the left bone-shield, bouncing off. The creature peers down and it makes several beeping and clicking noises. Its eye changes from red to crimson, and it closes. Auros takes another step back.

The creature suddenly moves again, but this time at a _much _more rapid pace. It flings its fists forward, connecting with the aura shield multiple times. They come back as fast as they are deflected, and Auros, at this point, is full-on retreating away from the creature. He begins to groan and growl loudly as exhaustion quickly takes hold, and he stumbles as one of the shields fades away. He holds the other one in the middle, struggling and shaking as the fists from the creature continue to hit him over and over.

Inevitably, his exhaustion gets the better of him, and he drops the second shield. Immediately after that, the creature's fist slams into Auros's face, causing a sickening crunchand sending him flying to the left. He does several cartwheels in the air, going limp and landing with a violent _thud _on the ground.

Auros coughs, warily eyeing the blood that spattered on the ground. He struggles, adjusting to a sitting position with his back at the tree. The giant metallic creature casts a glance, deems him a threat no more, and continues on its way.

Suddenly, a blunt object crashes into the skull of the creature, sending it flying face first in the ground. It stumbles up, its bulky form an annoying burden for it. It turns to see who attacked it.

Auros stands there, panting heavily with a trail of blood running down his mouth. Broken jaw that would have to be fixed later. His Bone Rush attack had taken the last of his strength, and it dissipates right out of his paws. The creature takes no more second chance and reaches out, grabbing Auros.

The Aura Pokémon squirms weakly, unable to break free of the grasp. The giant creature tightens its grip, and Auros gasps as he feels his body being squeezed inwards. He grits his teeth, and exhales raggedly when he hears several ribs literally _snap _right off. His vision begins to blacken around the edges, and he closes his eyes, accepting his fate.

_This is it._

The sensations stop. Auros gasps when he is dropped to the ground, and the pain quickly ebbs away into nothing. No feelings, no vision, nothing.

Without warning, his vision _does _return, and he opens his eyes. The area around him is the same, but he is now on the ground. He looks up, seeing the metallic creature standing there.

Completely frozen.

Auros narrows his eyes a bit, and looks around the area. The creature wasn't the only frozen thing. Every leaf, every blade of grass, and the clouds in the sky have stopped moving. Experimentally, Auros reaches a paw down to the ground and bends a blade of grass into an unnatural position. The blade of grass does not revert back to where it was. He shakes his head, completely confused, but his questions are soon answered when the reality around him fades away to white.

A white expanse that he is all too familiar with. The Continuum.

_The Continuum. A place that is so unknown and foreign to me that I dread it every time. During my involuntary inter-dimensional traveling, I end up here one way or another. Arceus is always here to greet me. Each visit, there always seems to be a purpose. Sometimes he grants me a gift, sometimes he whisks me away to another dimension, or I have a vision. I wonder what it could be this time._

He looks around. The area around him is completely white, giving no depth to the area aside from the white and misty fog that encircles him. Auros looks around, attempting to locate Arceus to no luck. He begins to walk in a random direction, hoping that he'll come across him.

It's not long (for Auros, in real time it may have been mere seconds or lengthy years) before he finally hears the footsteps echoing around him, signifying that Arceus approaches. He kneels out of habit, and Arceus appears before him.

"I told you to stop kneeling," he says with amusement. Auros gets up.

"Sorry," he says flatly in response. The two are able to communicate easily using their native Pokémon language. "If you do not mind me asking – what is the purpose for me being here?"

"Well," Arceus starts, trying to formulate his thoughts. "Well, as you may have predicted – you're dead."

Auros nods, consuming the information. He hadn't died before, so this was new to him.

"Alright, what now then?" he asks calmly. Arceus almost laughs.

"For someone who just died, you are awfully calm about it, Auros."

"I know."

They lapse into an uncomfortable silence and stare at each other, neither of them very sure how to continue.

Finally, Arceus looks away and sends a telepathic message to somewhere that Auros cannot determine. A few moments pass, and another is sent. Arceus smiles and looks at Auros, before taking a step back.

A sensation becomes present to Auros, and he whips around one hundred and eighty degrees, coming face to face with..

Again, Indigo. Auros feels his knees weaken, but the white-haired young adult only smiles and grasps Auros's shoulders, keeping him from falling. The Aura Pokémon looks up into the young man's eyes, and feels a tear roll down his cheek.

"_I-I'm... I'm sorry.. I thought it wouldn't happen again, b-but it did, and now look what I've done.. because of m-" _

Auros gasps when he feels his long-time friend suddenly lift him and hug him. He places his chin on the taller person's shoulder and cries.

_Indigo. A friend from the planet Altarus, we met a long, long time ago on one of Arceus's quests for me. Their species (Altarans) look quite similar to a human, with the exception that their body – proportions and all – have increased in height to, on average, seven and a half feet. That is approximately two and quarter meters. Indigo is that exact height. He has white hair, and wears relatively simple clothes, as he is modest. _

Once they are formally reunited, Auros backs away and glances at Arceus, who looks onwards with a stoic expression. He looks back at Indigo, who is still smiling.

"The reunion was nice, Auros. I wish you could stay here with me."

Auros tilts his head, confused.

"_I am dead. Why wouldn't I stay here?" _he responds, oblivious to what is happening.

Indigo looks up at Arceus, and their gazes finally catch. They nod to each other, and take positions on both sides of Auros. Before he has time to react to them surrounding him, an energy suddenly consumes his own and he yelps from the sensation. The pain is almost immediately subdued, and is replaced with some of the most pleasurable sensations that he could possibly imagine. He slumps to the ground, and his eyes close and he sighs happily.

As quickly as it begins, the sensations fade away, and Auros is left with a permanent lingering feeling of pleasure deep within him. He gets up, slowly and deliberately, and looks at the two figures now standing next to each other.

"_What did you do?" _he asks the both of them simply. Preferring to stay cryptic, they only smile again, and Auros looks at Arceus when the legendary Pokémon kneels close to him. The sheer power rolls over him from the god-like Pokémon as Arceus whispers directly into Auros's ear, causing him to shiver.

"_Exceptions are made to only those who are special to me."_

Questions in his mind were answered rapidly and quickly by the sentence, and Arceus returns next to Indigo. Arceus never had malicious intents after all.

Indigo nods at Arceus, and steps forward.

"One more thing, Auros. I have a gift for you."

He places his hand on Auros's head, and a strange feeling spreads through him. A few moments pass, before the feeling fades away. Indigo steps back.

Auros wants to ask more questions, but both of them begin to fade away. Auros trips, trying to move forward as if he could still speak to them one last time. The white expanse beneath him begins to break apart, various chunks of it falling away. The last thing Auros remembers is shouting Indigo's name as the final pieces fall away into a black void.

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The pain returns. Auros almost loses consciousness from it himself, but he finds himself in the same grassy area – and not in the creature's grasp. Time resumes, and the creature slowly begins to become reanimated. It looks at its fist, and realizes that the Aura Pokémon it had been holding had completely disappeared. The creature looks down, and spots a panting Auros on the ground, on his side, his mouth open because his jaw is broken.

The creature almost chuckles as it lifts up a foot, intending to _stomp _the wounded Pokémon.

Then, it stops.

Unintentionally, Auros had looked up directly into the creature's red 'eye', and they locked gazes for a moment.

That was enough for the creature to drop to its metallic knees, and fear overtook it. It let out several strangled noises, and fell backwards into the grass. It then faded from existence, leaving nothing but Auros and the broken trees around him from their battle.

Auros struggles to his feet, but drops down to his knees again as his ribs and jaw throb in pain. Internally, his insides were damaged much more than just his ribs, and he began to tremble violently from the pain.

Once again, he feels the edges of his eyes blacken, and two final voices – one belonging to a young and humble Hero of Time, the other belonging to a young teenager, shout out at the same time.

"_Auros!" _

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"Gah!" Link grunts, sitting up quickly in his bed. Sweat coats his entire forehead and he struggles for air. He shakes his head, not even sure this time what woke him so violently. He groans one final time before getting out of bed.

_Auros is in trouble._

The voice snaps him out of his sleepy state, and he opens his eyes wide. The voice in his head belonged to a powerful sounding creature, its voice very deep and old.

_Auros is in trouble?_

The thought hits him quickly, and he rushes to his closet and equips his gear. He sprints to Red's room, and pounds on the Pokémon Trainer's door.

"Red! Red, get up quickly! Auros is in trouble!" he shouts, not caring about the other sleeping people. A few moments later, Red arrives at the door in pajamas.

"..What time is it?" he asks sleepily, but Link takes his hand and pulls him along.

"No time to explain! We need to hurry!"

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_**Despair : Part III**_

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_.._

"_...assistance would be beneficial in times like this..."_

…

"_...of course, given the circumstances..."_

…

"_...given to the Princess. Hm? She's on her way..."_

…

"_...who is he?..."_

_Hm...?_

"_...parents safe? Good, how about..."_

_..good. Yes..._

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"_Auros."_

_I look up. Indigo was standing before me once more. It was the same forest clearing as last time, when I felt the pain in my vision._

"_Indigo..." I breath out, and he comes closer. I gasp, feeling a sudden onset of pain flow through me. Indigo quickens his pace, placing his hand on my shoulder. The pain went away._

"_Indigo..." I repeat, closing my eyes._

"_They're worried about you," he says slowly. I open my mouth, then close it. I don't really know how to respond. I sigh, lifting a paw and scratching the back of my neck nervously. I look up as he kneels next to me._

"_I can't let anything get in the way of you forming a new friendship."_

"_Indigo.. you don't understand. I can't... last time I did something like that, well.."_

"_Forget about that," he responded quickly. "You and I both know it was not intentional."_

"_Then why do I still _hate _myself for it? Why?" I respond harshly. He flinches._

"_Don't hate yourself. Look.." he sighs. "_I _want you to form a new friendship with him. _Me_, Auros. Do it for me. I can't stand to watch you like this anymore. Your flashbacks, your visions... it is painful. I understand it would be hard to gain new friends after our friendship, but... Link can help you. He can help you, Auros. I want that."_

_I look up at him, and notice that his eyes are beginning to water._

"_Indigo, wait. I'll do it."_

_He looks up at me, and a smile spreads across his face. He places his hand on my chest, and a feeling of regeneration spreads through me._

"_Thank you, Auros."_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

…

"_...rest is all he needs now..."_

…

…

…

_...Huh?_

A piercing light makes its way into the Aura Pokémon's vision, as he groans lightly. He opens his eyes, looking at the sunlight glaring through the window of the room.

He turns over on the bed, surveying the quiet room. There isn't much, just the bed and a table with several exotic potions sitting on it. Slowly – and painfully – he gets up and out of bed, testing his limits. His ribs still ache, but they are definitely fixed. He also opens and closes his mouth – it was now working again.

He listens closely, and hears voices.

"...was incredible. Wasn't the work of the potions, and we're still trying to figure out what it was," the voice says, and it stops at the door. It pushes inwards, and a doctor, Link, and Red all pour in. "You can see for yo-"

The doctor stops suddenly, spotting Auros standing in the corner, looking somewhat sheepish. More importantly, to them, he looks completely fine. Red rushes forward.

"_AUROS!" _he shouts, quickly capturing Auros in an embrace. Link trails behind, placing a protective hand on Red's shoulder, while the doctor stays back.

"I don't believe it..." the doctor breathes out, running a hand through his hair in disbelief. Red and Link move back to give Auros room, both of them grinning. Auros can't help himself – he is grinning too at the reunion.

Out of nowhere, the smiles on Red and Link's face drop, and the doctor's jaw hits the floor. Auros freezes, unsure of _what _could have caused such a reaction.

"My Arceus, Auros..." Red says, trailing off.

"Your eyes..?" Link finishes, equally amazed. Auros blinks several times.

"_My eyes? What do you mean?"_

"Well.. they're.. glowing?" Link answers. Auros shakes his head, and quickly pushes past them and sprints out the door. He enters the stairwell, flying down the steps and opening the door to the courtyard. The fountain comes into view, and Auros stumbles over to it, peering over the side and looking at his reflection.

Sure enough, they were glowing. Brilliantly. He couldn't help himself – he became allured to them, but detached himself when the glowing finally faded away. In its place, were his normal eyes, albeit a soft flame-like light pulsing in them. His mouth dries, and he jumps when Red, Link, and the doctor all appear next to him.

"See what we mean?" Red asks. Auros nods weakly.

"_I don't... I-I have no idea what this means," _he admits. He searches his memories, attempting to find the causation. There is only one thing that he _can _think of.

_Indigo._

_A gift from Indigo._

He remembers the creature dying, seemingly from nothing. It was not nothing – it was his eyes.

_A gift that has the capacity to kill._

_That.. that is no gift.  
><em>

Distraught, Auros tenses, and Link and Red notice.

"Auros, what is it?" they ask in unison. Auros doesn't respond, he only solemnly gets up and pushes past them, head hung.

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Auros pads through the forest, admiring the beauty of the area. Hyrule seemed to be a place that was elegantly crafted by some god, he thought to himself. This was quickly becoming confirmed as he witnesses it first-hand. Animal life is everywhere – rabbits, elk, and other more strange creatures bounded around, interacting with the environment in various ways.

He reaches a small pond, and reluctantly leans over it to peer at his eyes. At the current moment, they were still in their same state of dimly pulsing. It was noticeable if you looked quite closely. What he can't understand, however, is why they were glowing.

Regardless, a decision needed to be made. Auros closes his eyes and trembles, feeling a mixture of emotions. Confusion, sadness, and anger towards Indigo.

_Indigo._

The one whom he considered his best friend bestowed upon him this false _'gift'._

He opens his eyes, glancing around the beautiful environment once more. Although it was pretty, there were more important things to attend to.

_Such as the safety of the others. If I have something this powerful that can kill things, then I will not use it. My belief is clear. I will not kill._

So he closes his eyes.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Despair : Part III**_

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The aura receptors on the back of the Aura Pokémon's head hum softly, scanning the environment in real-time. He looks around – using aura vision – with no particular goal in mind. Just a walk to clear his mind, and perhaps figure out how to explain his decision to Link, who would be inevitably unhappy.

"_...Auros..!"_

Auros's ears perk up, recognizing the distant call immediately. It sounded like Link, or perhaps Red. After a couple seconds, he wasn't even sure who it might have been anymore.

"_..Auros..!" _it calls again. Auros crouches, and attempts to scan the area in the direction of the voice. On the edge of his range, he notices two figures, and immediately recognizes it as both Link and Red.

But something very disturbing catches his 'eye' instead. He moves his vision to the left of him, instead of in front of him, and finds a familiar sight.

Red aura. Evil aura. He gasps and takes a step back, nearly falling over. The blue aura around him soon shifts into evil aura, repeating the same thing it had done before. It didn't directly harm him; rather, it just bumped into him and went on its way. Auros looks ahead at Link and Red again, and notices that they both have frozen, and fear is now their primary emotion. The evil aura is also not harming them, but they sure seem like they sense it.

Unfortunately, a sensation alerts Auros back to his left, and realizes that a large creature is approaching. On closer look, it is the same metallic creature that nearly _squeezed _the life right out of him. Panicking, he starts to sprint towards his two friends, but the creature lunges an incredibly far distance and slams his fist into the Pokémon. Auros, knowing he couldn't avoid the punch, places both his paws in front of him and uses his aura to absorb the punch.

The resulting explosion of energy sends the Aura Pokémon flying backwards, and he slams into a large boulder. He slumps to the ground, and tests his body to make sure nothing is broken. After confirming that he is fine, he gets up and looks ahead once more at the creature, who is now barreling down upon Link and Red.

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"_Look out!" _

The shout in the back of Link's mind snaps him to attention, and he notices the giant metallic creature bearing down upon him. He dives out of the way as it rushes past him, and looks over at Red to see that he did likewise.

"Link, what is that thing?" Red shouts, panicked. Link doesn't answer as the creature turns and charges him again. He bends his knees and grabs his boomerang, charging it and chucking it as hard as he can.

It flies through the air, and glows a brilliant gold as the infused magic does its work. It easily cuts through the arm of the metallic creature, shearing it straight off. The boomerang floats lazily back at Link, and he catches it.

The creature expectantly looks at its destroyed arm, then turns back to Link and makes a series of noises and beeps. Its red eye turns black, and it picks up the destroyed arm. In one swift motion, it whips it directly at Link.

Not expecting the quick motions, Link's hand reaches over and grabs the Master Sword, unsheathing it and bringing it out in front of him. The arm collides with the sword, and Link grunts as it bounces off it. The arm flops uselessly to the ground. Another set of angered beeps comes from the creature, and it swings its other arm at Link, who holds up his sword once more to deflect the attack.

His knees buck slightly as the two powerful forces collide, and metal upon metal scrape against each other as the two try and overpower the other. The sword, due to the sheer power, begins to shine brightly. Link grunts again, and begins to take steps backwards. The creature moves with him. Red frantically starts to fumble his hands around his belt, looking for his Pokémon balls, when Link's gloved hand begins to glow.

The Triforce infused within the glove flashes several times, and suddenly Link is bursting with energy and power. In a quick motion, he thrusts the sword forward, promptly sending the giant creature backwards and through several trees. It begins to crawl back to its feet.

A crack through the air stops the creature dead in its tracks, and a series of beeps comes from it. Another moment later, and it falls lifelessly to the ground and fades away.

Link breathes, relaxing the string on the Hero's Bow. His shot hit the target directly where he wanted it to – in the red eye that the creature possessed. It now sparks and sizzles uselessly on the ground.

"_Link," _a firm voice makes itself clear in his head, and Link feels a furry paw on his shoulder. He whips around, startled, but relaxes when he sees the concerned face of Auros.

"_Are you alright?" _he asks in a small voice. Link nods.

"I'm fine. What happened to your eyes?" he questions back. Auros stands still for a second, tensing, before sighing.

"_Link, you know how you saw my eyes glowing?" _he mutters slowly. Link nods. _"They managed to kill one of the creatures that we just thought. Simply from me being angry at it, and it translated to my eyes and... killed it."_

Link smiles. "That's great!" he exclaims. "It could be use-"

"_No!" _Auros shouts, taking Link by surprise. Auros relaxes, stopping the trembling in him that he had failed to notice.

"_No," _he confirms once more. _"I have a code to uphold – I will not kill anything."_

"Is this why your eyes are closed, Auros?" Link asks, tilting his head. Auros nods.

_.._

_..."Indigo!"_

..

"Auros?" Link repeats. Auros jumps.

"_Sorry. I was thinking about something. Yes, that's why I closed my eyes."_

Link blinks. "You... you didn't really answer my second question. You just answered the first question twice. I wanted to know what _exactly _attacked us?"

"_Some kind of evil aura. I presume you sensed it before it attacked, correct?"_ Link nods. _"It was related to that."_

"Hm.. alright. I can accept that. But Auros, you know that you can't just keep your eyes closed forever, right?"

"_We shall see."_

Auros turns and pads away, leaving behind both Link and Red. The latter turns to Link.

"Perhaps I can use one of my Pokémon to talk to him. Maybe Zoroark could help."

"I suppose. He seems very distraught about the entire situation," Link responds, eyeing the direction that Auros went off in.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Luc-er.. Auros, right?"

Auros turns, and sees the door open. Red's main Pokémon, Zoroark, is standing in the doorway to his bedroom.

"Yes."

"Red wanted me to talk to you," Zoroark says meekly. Auros sighs and gestures him in. The dark-type closes the door behind him.

"He... he told me everything. Can your eyes actually do that?"

"...Yes."

They fall into a long, yet strangely comforting silence. Auros listens to the wind blowing gently through the window, while Zoroark shuffles his feet. They both turn towards the door when Link comes through.

"Ah.. uh, Auros?" he says, looking at Zoroark. "Could you tell him to leave?"

However, the dark-type hears him and scowls, walking past Link and out the door. Link shakes his head and closes the door again.

"Look, I've been thinking it over and... well, I personally think it is a bit ridiculous that you _still _aren't accepting what happened to your eyes. Speaking of which, how _did _you manage to gain that power?"

Auros considers the question, before solemnly shaking his head._ "I would prefer not to say."_

Link mulls over this for a second, before nodding. "Very well," he comments casually, casting a glance behind his shoulder before leaning in towards Auros. "Was it a gift?"

_What?!_

"_What?!" _Auros echoes his own thoughts, and Link smirks.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"_..How much do you know?" _Auros questions angrily. Link shakes his head.

"Not much. Just a hunch. You know, our realm has gods as well. It isn't uncommon to see someone with a gift granted by the gods. I can only assume that some other... god... gave it to you, since I don't see how it could be possible any other way. I mean... that is a _very _strong power that you have." 

Auros considers his reasoning, before nodding.

"_You're partially correct. It wasn't necessarily a god, rather a.. friend," _Auros says, pausing at 'friend'. Link catches this, but decides not to comment on it specifically.

"Very well. Why are you denying your gift then?"

"_It's not a gift."_

"You still didn't answer the question," Link shoots back calmly. Auros narrows his eyes.

"_And I answered your question. It isn't a gift, therefore I will deny it as it is detrimental to my existence."_

"Detrimental? Only _you _are making it out to be that way. It doesn't _have _to be bad, but you are treating it like it will destroy your entire lifestyle."

"_It will!" _Auros responds angrily, standing up. _"This conversation is over. I will not use my eyes – they can kill, and if I possess something that can _kill _things, something that I have avoided for my entire life due to circumstances which I WILL NOT DISCLOSE, then I will NOT use it."_

With that, Auros attempts to storm past Link, but the Hero of Time holds out his hand firmly, blocking the entrance.

"Auros, _what _circumstances are you talking about?"

The Aura Pokémon suddenly becomes much more hostile, and nearly hisses out his answer. _"You do _not _have the right to question me about that. Get out of my way."_

As expected, Link does not budge. Auros growls lowly and raises a paw, letting blue aura flame in it for a moment as a threat. _"I will not ask again. Move."_

At first, Auros was bluffing. He would never intentionally hurt Link. But as they stand there glaring at each other, he feelings a strange sensation creep its way through his body, and he gasps. His urge to hold himself back from attacking Link is suddenly replaced with an unquenchable thirst to seriously _hurt _him.

"Auros? Listen to me! You gotta tell me what's goi-" Link stops abruptly, grunting as he is violently shoved backwards towards the door. It buckles under their combined weight and splinters open, as they crash out into the hallway. Link scrambles to his feet but is immediately sent flying back down as Auros's clenched paw connects with his face.

"Auros, STOP!" Link shouts, fear in his voice, and Auros halts immediately, his foot inches away from Link's face. He looks down at Link, as the other looks up at him with terror and sadness. Quick flashes and pangs of guilt flash through his body and mind, and he starts to tremble. Link scrambles to his feet and immediately grabs Auros's paw to try and comfort him.

"_Auros... w-what have you d-done?"  
><em>

The memory fades away, and Auros squeezes his eyes even more shut, feeling a hot stinging sensation building up in his eyes. He fails to comprehend the words that Link is saying.

"_It is alright.. they made you do this. Just.. don't forget. N-never forget. Please. Ah.."_

Auros begins to breath in ragged breaths, and tries to focus, but another memory suddenly forces its way in.

"_One more thing, Auros. I have a gift for you."_

Before he can stop himself, the anger surges back in exponentially higher quantities than before, and Auros pushes Link back. Link staggers, regaining his balance and looking at Auros with a hurt expression. The Aura Pokémon does not seem affected by this at all, and his entire body begins to radiate a dark purple. Link takes a step back as Auros lifts his head and howls in a deep voice, before charging at Link with both his paws extended, aura radiating from both.

Link narrows his eyes, presses his feet into the floor, and lifts his gloved hand as the Triforce changes from its dim state to the powerful glowing yellow state.

The Aura Pokémon's paws collide with an invisible force outside of Link, and the Triforce glows brightly as Auros gasps and falls backwards on his tail, the sheer power creating a shield-like aura around Link. He looks up at Link, and blinks.

_Blinks._

His eyes snap shut again, but it is too late. Link rushes towards him, kneeling next to him and urging him to open his eyes again excitedly. Auros shakes his head and trembles violently, before opening his eyes and revealing everything.

Link gasps as they begin to radiate, changing from their normal dim, pulsing state, to a more pronounced and bright state. However, instead of anger or fear, which would have inevitably killed him, he sees the Pokémon's eyes expressing everything to him in a rapid but easy to understand fashion.

_Angst. Feelings of hopelessness. Feelings of loss over a friend. Unwillingness to create new friendships to avoid causing the same issues. Hatred towards a friend he once loved dearly. Hatred at himself for the gift that he has. Hatred at himself for what he has just done. Hatred at himself for things he has done in the past._

And as the last emotions pulse through Link, leaving him speechless, he notices tears beginning to roll down Auros's fur, his ears miserably drooped down. Link pities the poor creature, sitting down in front of him and leaning in.

They exchange a comforting silence as they embrace each other, finally forming the friendship which Auros had not yet realized he had so desperately needed, but would have trouble keeping alive.

It would turn out to become one of the largest struggles that Auros would have to face so far._  
><em>

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Next Chapter**_

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"_Well, sometimes things jus' happen. Things which you cannot really avoid, even if you wanted to. Me an' the gang sure didn't expect it. We thought it was over, but I guess not. Whatevs, though, 'cause we can handle anything. Call us what ya want, but there ain't any other team out there better than us. That Auros guy though.. I think I outta help him, y'know?"_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Closure**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I struggled to write at some portions of this chapter, and it actually took much longer than I predicted. However, it turned out fine, thus I am satisfied with it.

Now, let me clarify. The ending is _not _the end of that side story. Link and Auros will continue to have their problems. If you haven't realized yet, Auros is seriously having some mental issues from his past that still require resolution. I feel quite bad for him.

Also, let's just clarify some things right now. Here's what the reader SHOULD know (with some implications made here and there):

Auros had a best friend named Indigo, from the planet Altarus, who visits him in the Continuum and gives him his 'glowing eyes gift'.

Something happened between Auros and Indigo that gives the Pokémon great amounts of guilt and sorrow, but when he received the gift from Indigo, he suddenly becomes very conflicted.

Auros hates the gift so much because of his personal morals – something with the ability to kill things goes against his very nature to live.

Various other things in his past have occurred, from humans, that have caused their own sources of hurt in Auros as well.

Probably forgetting some things, but those are the most important things. I have a list of all the problems that Auros has, because there is just that many. I wasn't kidding when I wanted to also gear this story in the direction of a Hurt/Comfort story and an Angst story.

Some more thinking today has also helped me come to the conclusion that I now know for _sure _what Part III of the Auros Trilogy will be like. Obviously, I can't disclose that information, but I'm fairly sure I know how _Nexus _will end, and I predict it will be roughly 150,000-450,000 words (as I have already said).


	4. Fall

**:**

_**Fanfiction #4 : Nexus**_

_**Auros Trilogy**_

_Rifted** → Nexus → **Concord_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Introduction**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The first non-rewritten chapter that is using my new style of writing. This doesn't necessarily include new content, and is still somewhat of a rewrite of the second half of the old chapter II, but will be a new chapter regardless.

Nothing much to report. I'm beginning this on October 20th, and will probably only have around 40 minutes to work on it tonight. I think I'll have it finished around October 25th or so, and hopefully from there I can begin the editing process. That should take only a couple days, and by the end of October, this series will officially be re-updated and totally active again. I sincerely hope this story gets attention, as I've poured a lot of work into it to put it with the other 'large' Lucario stories. You know who you are.

Other then that, enjoy!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Information**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

**Updates**

**October 20, 2014 : Revision started**

**October 23, 2014 : Revision finished**

**November 12, 2014 : Minor edits**

I have a specific picture of Auros on my profile, which is how I envision him. I suggest you check that out, along with the other information that is there.

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_**Fall**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Act I**_

_**Fall : Part I**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

**It has been several days **since the brief confrontation between Auros and Link. After their spar, they reconciled almost immediately, and Link learned much more about the sensitive Pokémon that night. Auros recalls it with a certain level of haze, relying on Link to fill in the details. When he heard what he asked for, he was rather embarrassed.

"'Can I stay with you tonight?'. Of course, I knew your situation and responded yes," Link says thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his neck. Auros looked down, feeling the blush creeping up. He shakes his head.

"_Then what?" _he whispers cautiously. Link smiles.

"Then I let you sleep in the bed with me."

Auros considers this for a moment, before shrugging. _"I was distressed; you can not possibly have expected me to have made a coherent decision at that time."_

Link smiles sadly. "I know, I know. The thing is, I'm actually glad you wanted that."

At Auros's questioning gaze, he explains. "Well, to be honest Auros, I haven't really had that many friends for.. well, my entire life. I mean, I defeated Ganon, and everyone congratulated me and was happy for me, but..." he pauses, recollecting his thoughts, then shakes his head. "It all faded away. I was close with Princess Zelda for a while, staying by her side to protect her. When no danger came her way for weeks, she dismissed me. I don't think she meant harm by it, and I'm assuming that she thought I had friends to return to. I didn't. I lived with my father, a sheltered life, and never really made too many friends."

He sighs. "I guess when it was all over, and my father dead, I just explored the forest for months, trying to find my purpose once more. Finally, I came to the castle again and said my father was dead, and had no home. I asked for asylum here, which was obviously granted to me due to my past. I've stayed here ever since, and kept things in order. I really never made any friends, until you two came along."

Auros stares at him, and after a few moments smiles slightly and places a paw on his shoulder. _"You and me both," _he comments simply, before standing up. Link does likewise. _"I'm glad to have you as a friend, Link."_

The Hero of Time agrees, before nodding at the Pokémon one last time and leaving the room. Auros sighs and stares longingly out the window. His thoughts inevitably drift to Indigo again.

"_If you get too close, it'll only happen again."_

Auros shakes his head, closing his eyes sadly as he slumps to the floor into an endless mental debate again.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Auros!"

The meditating Aura Pokémon lazily opens an eye, peering at the door, as it cracks open. Red's excited face pops in.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to watch our training today. I know you usually don't, but I thought-" 

"_I'll go," _Auros quickly interjects, standing up and brushing the dust away from his blue fur. Anything to leave this place of meddling thoughts. Red's face lightens up immediately.

"Great! Maybe you and Zoroark can practice together."

The Pokémon Trainer softly closes the door, and Auros listens as he walks away. He sighs happily, overjoyed that at least _someone _here is having a good time. Even if it isn't himself.

"_Become friends with him. It's what I'd want."_

Auros closes his eyes, growling lowly in frustration, before storming out the room.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Red, I'm surprised that you managed to get Auros to come!"

Link scuffles his feet in the long Hylian grass, as they head towards the outskirts of the forest. Red takes in a large breath of the fresh air, fingering the Pokémon balls on his belt.

"I'm just glad that all three of us are together again. Even if Auros looks sullen as hell," he says, smirking and casting a glance at Auros. The Aura Pokémon's head was hung, and he was following behind them some distance, out of earshot.

"I'm still worried about him. When he conveyed all his emotions to me," Link says, recalling how he told Red everything that had happened. "I think it definitely helped. But something is still bothering him. I can't figure out what yet, and it'll be hard to crack it out of him. He's got a natural habit to avoid all discussion revolving his emotions. He told me yesterday that his training revolved around blocking his emotions. Apparently, during battle, his species can't afford to tap into their emotions, or else they may risk accidental loss of focus."

Red shakes his head, smiling. "I will never be able to fully understand Pokémon, despite me being around them all my life. They're fascinating, but man are they complex. I wonder what goes through his mind?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

_Indigo... Link... Red..._

_..friends?_

Auros looks up, watching as the two men in front of them talk casually to each other. He could listen to them using his aura abilities, but today he is too depressed to even be able to concentrate for that long. His mental debate rages in his head, where his needs battle his desires.

After several more minutes of traveling, both of them promptly stop and look at the great forest looming ahead. They turn to Auros, who catches up to them quickly.

"_Is this where you train?" _he says, closing the distance between the pair. Red nods, before unclasping a red and white ball from his belt. He presses the button on the front of it, in the seam between the two halves, and it enlarges. With an quick spin, he chucks it out some distance into the field, and it opens up just before hitting the ground and releases a white light. It shifts for several moments, before a large and dark-furred Pokémon takes its place.

"Zoroark, for today's training, I'm going to have you battle Auros here, alright?"

The dark-type nods, casting a glance at both Link and Auros, before turning away to head further down the field. Auros follows, while Link takes position between the two to monitor the battle. Auros drops into a battle stance, bending his knees and spreading his legs a little, and raises his arms and paws into the air to demonstrate his aura abilities. In both his paws, they radiate a warming cyan flame.

On the other side of the field, Zoroark growls enthusiastically, and puts one leg forward and the other behind him. He raises his arms, moving them forward so that they are pointing at the Aura Pokémon some distance away. He bares his teeth.

"Ready?" Auros shouts.

"Only if you are!" Zoroark growls back. Auros nods, before jumping high into the air – way higher than any natural jump a Lucario would make. Zoroark's mouth falls open as the opposing Pokémon easily reaches the height of a ten story building, doing several flips and twists, before landing directly behind the dark-type. Before he even has time to react to the bold move, he feels a paw placed on his back. He whimpers.

A sudden surge of energy rips a howl out of Zoroark's throat as he is thrust forward into the air, and flies almost as high as Auros had leaped. He falls back down to the earth violently, skidding several hundred feet and coming to a stop, groaning. Auros uses Extreme Speed and races up to him, but Zoroark isn't finished quite yet. He jumps up at the last moment and uses Foul Play, teleporting him behind the speeding Aura Pokémon and kicking him as hard as possible. Auros grunts and falls to the ground, rolling for several feet before coming to a stop.

"It won't be that easy to defeat me!" he hisses competitively. Auros gets up, brushing the dirt and mud sticking to his fur.

"You got mud all over my fur. Now you will pay," Auros states with a slight chuckle, before his expression becomes serious again. He holds out both of his paws, and aura surges between them, forming a bone staff that he whips and spins around easily.

Zoroark, in response, prepares to use Foul Play again. Auros rushes forward, spinning the staff in his paws. When he gets close, Zoroark teleports behind him and prepares to kick him once more, but Auros had prepared for this. In one swift movement, Auros whips around and lowers the spinning staff, just as Zoroark's foot flies forward. Instead of hitting the Aura Pokémon's shin, it is whacked painfully with the aura bone.

As expected, he crumples to the ground and cries out in pain. Auros dissolves the bone immediately, and offers a paw to his former opposition. Zoroark reluctantly takes the paw, pulling himself up and limping carefully, trying to avoid as much pain to his foot as possible. Auros throws an arm around Zoroark, pulling them closer together.

"You did really good, considering our power difference. Sorry for the pain," Auros says, smiling sheepishly. Zoroark grunts in response, telling him it's fine. They limp slowly back, and Zoroark lays on the grass, heaving in and out. Auros glances at Red, and shrugs.

"_He fought well. I am sorry that I hit him so hard in the foot, but he did not suffer any damage."_

Red nods. "I appreciate the help, Auros. I'll have some of my other Pokémon train. Why don't you and Zoroark relax for a bit? You seem to get along quite well."

Auros nods, and thanks him politely by bowing. He moves silently towards Zoroark, laying down next to him. They gaze up at the blue sky, as the clouds make their migration eastwards.

"This place is very beautiful," Zoroark finally murmurs after a long while. Auros turns his head towards the dark-type, who seems to be lulled by the movement and warm wind on his fur.

"Hm..?" Auros responds. Zoroark blinks, and turns to look at him.

"What did I say?"

"You said this place is very beautiful. I wanted to know if you were going to finish that thought," Auros says, his eyes pulsing steadily. Zoroark stares back.

"N-no. Didn't plan on it."

The larger Pokémon turns back towards the clouds, watching them as his mind races, and his heart beats a bit faster than normal.

"You did well today, by the way," Auros repeats from earlier.

"Thanks," Zoroark responds simply. He smiles to himself as he says it.

"Not that many Pokémon are even able to get a hit off on me. I've battled thousands of wild Pokémon, and they never seem to get far. It actually got quite boring, back on Sinnoh.." Auros sighs, looking wistfully at the clouds.

"You're wild?"

Auros clenches his teeth for a second, before shutting his eyes. "Yes. Red didn't tell you?"

"He hardly tells me anything anymore. Me and him are growing farther and farther apart. We used to be best friends, but now.. there's just animosity between us. Unexplainable, uncomfortable animosity."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Don't apologize. It was going to happen regardless. The good thing is that he lets me stay outside of the Pokémon ball way more often now. It does get lonely, though I suppose that doesn't change much outside the ball anyways..." he says, trailing off. Auros whips his head towards Zoroark, narrowing his eyes. The last, angst-filled sentence _definitely _caught his attention.

Zoroark doesn't react. The dark-type just continues to stare at the clouds, a longing smile on his face. Slowly, Auros begins to realize that his sentence was telling the truth.

"I-I didn't know. Perhaps we should spend more time together?" Auros says.

_Eyes._

Zoroark's mind trails back to that, and he opens his mouth and closes it. Instead, he simply nods at what Auros said. The Aura Pokémon smiles to himself and closes his eyes, falling into a meditative stance.

_Eyes, eyes, eyes. What is wrong with his eyes? Wrong... there's nothing wrong with them, but something is different about them._

As his thoughts continue, his mouth grows dry and he saturates it again. He is just about to lay back down to continue his rueful thought process, when a sudden voice catches his attention.

"Zoro!" Red shouts in the distance. He sits up, giving one last glance at Auros, who appears to be sleeping now. He turns towards Red, who is waving in the distance.

_Zoro? He hasn't used that name in months..._

Regardless, he gets up and softly pads towards the Pokémon trainer, casting longing glances behind him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Fall : Part II**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Auros cracks open an eye, peering at the sunlight above. He looks around, scanning the environment around him and the soft breeze blowing through the field. Ahead, the trees to the massive forest sway steadily in the wind.

_Something isn't right._

True to his words, he scans the area and immediately notices that there was nobody around him. He cast a few quick glances back towards the castle, and considers heading back there, but then a bright flash and a loud snap in the air catches his attention. His head whips around painfully towards the source of light and noise, but he sees nothing.

_Until _a white gleam in the air comes into view. He gasps softly, taking a step back, as it approaches at velocities beyond the scope of his mind. It grows larger, soon showing its true form to Auros as he turns and watches it slam into the field only a short distance away. The impact knocks him off his feet, and he breathes in flying dirt, sending him into a coughing fit.

The rumbling finally subsides after several more moments of the large craft sliding on the ground, and Auros scrambles back up to his feet. Several hundred feet away, he could see the large white object that landed. It has four large wings, as well as a sleek hull that connected it all together. Now burning with curiosity, Auros made his way over to it quickly using Extreme Speed, skidding to a stop right before it.

It was _huge. _Bending his legs, he sprang up to the top of the hull and looks down at the ground, which was around five stories below him. From this height, he could also see the Hylian castle in the distance. Three smaller figures were approaching, running as fast as they could. Based on the green tunic, red vest, and large dark-furred body, he decides to rush towards his friends.

"Auros! What happened?" Link shouts frantically, waving his arms. Auros comes to a stop directly in front of them, and Red bends over, gasping for air.

"_A large white object just crashed into your world, Link. What do you expect me to say?" _Auros grunts, turning around to peer at the object. It was still smoking in various spots, and pieces of it were strewn for several hundred more feet beyond itself.

"Pretty much everyone saw or heard it land in the village. This is _not _good, Auros."

"_Are you blaming me?" _Auros asks, frustrated and stressed. Link stares at him and shakes his head quickly.

"No. Where did you get that idea?"

"_Nevermind. Perhaps there are people inside it. I gave it a quick aura scan before I came to meet you guys, and I believe it has several entrance points."_

Link nods, peering around Auros at the object. They lower their pace, but still proceed at a cautious and quick jog towards it.

When they reach it, Auros stops them again by silently holding up a paw. He places his other paw over his chest, and closes his eyes. Now in aura vision, he scans the entire object, confirming that there were, indeed, several entrance points. As well as these entrance points, he detects two faint aura signatures.

"_Two life signs. Injured," _he reports efficiently. Link gasps and rushes for the object, while Red still heaves for air. Zoroark comes up next to Auros.

"Pretty impressive ability if you ask me. We should help Link – he won't know his way around a spaceship for sure." 

"...That's a spaceship?" Auros responds incredulously. Zoroark gives him a funny look, before nodding slowly.

"Yes. Haven't you seen one before?" 

"I suppose, maybe once or twice.."

"_Our people escaped from Earth, on around 1,000 spaceships. Most didn't survive."_

Auros shakes his head sadly, pushing Zoroark away gently as he shuts out the repressed memories. Ignoring them for now, he prioritizes the ship, and dashes over to Link. Zoroark follows, with Red trailing behind.

"There's no handle! How does it open?" Link nearly shouts.

"Probably out of hydraulic fluid, if you ask me. These are probably all automatic."

All three of them turn around, and Red is looking around at the ship with overwhelming excitement. When he realizes that they are staring, he smiles back sheepishly. "I do enjoy studying this kind of stuff.."

_Interesting._ _Will keep that in mind._

Auros pads up calmly to the supposed entrance, and places a paw on it. He grunts and surges aura through the paw and into the door, easily blowing it backwards and into the ship. The party steps in, carefully checking their surroundings. The narrow hallway leads down to another door, which is heavily dented. Between the two entrances, the hallway is intersected by another path. Auros comes to this intersection, leading the rest, and peers around the corner in both directions. Same white hallways, same white automatic doors.

"_I don't understand," _he communicates to the others. _"The layout escapes me."_

The others shrug, and Auros sighs and taps into his aura again. Giving a quick scan through the doors, he finds mostly bedrooms and storage closets. However, on the front of ship, he finds the cockpit with the two lifeforms.

"_There," _he says quickly, pointing in that direction. They follow the Aura Pokémon as he comes up to door separating the two. Hesitantly, he raises a paw and gently knocks on the door, then takes a step back. He casts a glance behind him and notices that the others have taken ten steps back, and he rolls his eyes.

A noise on the other side of the door catches his attention, and his heart stops and breath hitches. A loud and high-pitched groan makes itself very apparent, and the entire group looks at the door curiously.

Soon, shuffling is heard, and Auros switches back to his aura vision to watch. He peers past the door and looks inside, noticing a creature was moving around, and another mid-sized creature was unconscious on the floor. The first one was stumbling for the door, constantly tripping over scattered tools and parts. He slams a hand into a panel next to the door, and nothing happens. He groans again, reaching for his belt and pulling out some kind of tool. He jams it in between the panel and the wall, and pries off the panel itself. Auros watches with amusement as the creature sticks the tool into the wall several times, before slamming a hand on the button.

The door opens faster than Auros expects, and he stumbles backwards as he simultaneously exits aura vision and opens his eyes.

A rather strange creature was standing there, even taller than him even though he would not expect it. Auros looks up at the creature, tilting his head.

_Negative reaction in 3... 2... 1-_

"Hey!"

The ragged, high pitched voice makes Auros flinch, and he takes a step back, allowing him to get a fuller picture of it.

_It _was a humanoid toad, with short legs and arms. It wore an orange flight suit, as well as a small red hat. His mouth was comically huge, and his eyes gave off a rather.. unintelligent look.

Auros looks behind himself, and notices that his friends had retreated so far, that only their heads were poking around the corner. He turns back towards the toad, who was still looking at him with the same dull look.

"_...Hello," _Auros responds slowly. The toad smiles and extends a hand.

"I'm Slippy Toad, but you can just call me Slippy!"

Auros hesitantly reaches out a paw, and they shake weakly. The instant the Aura Pokémon lets go, Slippy turns around and walks back into the room.

"What's your name? And your three friends at the end of the hall? Don't act like I can't see them!"

Auros blinks, before shaking his head and smiling slightly. _"Auros. My friends can introduce themselves. Please come out with us, we should talk."_

"I agree. Krystal here is pretty injured I think, so we should focus on getting her out first. You're strong, right? You look like it. Help me out, would'ya?"

The Pokémon looks down at where Slippy is pointing, and notices a blue vixen lying there on the ground. It was the same one that was unconscious from before. He nods and comes over, picking her up by the feet. Slippy easily lifts her by the hands.

They make their way back out of the ship, and the rest of his group trails behind as they set down the unconscious figure.

"You said your friends will introduce themselves, so..." the toad says, gesturing towards the three figures nervously standing some distance away. Auros looks at them.

"_Please come over and introduce yourselves to the toad. His name is Slippy," _he tells them, forming a telepathic link exclusively to his friends. They nod and shuffle over.

Link is the first to speak. "My name is Link, and I am the knight of these lands. You dare damage them any further, and you will suffer the consequences."

Auros winces. It is rare to see Link in such a hostile mood. The toad doesn't even seem to be fazed by this though, and nods. "Great! And you are?" he says, turning to Red.

"Red. A Pokémon Trainer."

"Pokémon? Is that a species?" the toad asks, kneeling down next to the blue-furred vixen and checking her vitals.

"Uh.. yeah, I suppose."

The toad gets up and looks directly at Zoroark. "And you? Your friend here talks, so I'm assuming you can too."

Auros quickly interjects. _"H-he can't talk."_

"Ah, so only some of you have telepathic powers. Alright then! Well, thanks for the introductions. Do you have a place for us to stay?"

Link narrows his eyes, but Auros glares at him with a fierce intensity. Finally, Link sighs and nods. "Yes..."

Slippy's face lightens up immediately. "Great! Any of you strong enough to carry Krystal here?"

Link grunts and comes over, sliding his hands underneath her back and lifting her over his shoulder. He walks away quickly, back towards the castle.

"Oh! I almost forgot."

Slippy reaches down to his belt, and unclips a small electronic device. He clicks it once.

"Fox, Falco, come in."

Several moments pass.

"...Go ahead Slippy."

"I'm transmitting my coordinates now."

Auros looks at the toad, and realizes that the underlying characteristic is quite different from his outwardly appearance. He may appear... not so intelligence at first glance, but his characteristics would say otherwise.

Slippy clicks the communicator once again, and clasps it back on his belt. He whistles an unknown tune, staring at the sky. Auros, Red, and Zoroark peer up at the sky too, curious as to what the toad is looking at.

Several moments pass. A crack of sound bursts through the atmosphere, and everyone but Slippy jumps. Two aircraft pass by, both doing a large reverse half-loop, before slowing down and stopping in mid air. They float gently down to the ground next to the group, kicking up large clouds and swaths of dust. Their engines roar for several seconds, before lowering into a dull hum.

The glass windshields on the two aircraft pop open, and a red fox as well as a bluish falcon – both humanoid, jump out.

"Who are those people with Slippy?" the bird says to the fox. Auros's ear twitches, his keen hearing easily able to detect what they are saying.

"I don't know. Come on."

They trod on over, and Auros takes the time to look them over. Both of them wear complex headsets, with pieces of glass over their eyes. The Aura Pokémon looks closer and notices information constantly scrolling in them. He also notices two weapons of some sort strapped to their flight suits, making them have a total of four weapons. Auros looks at Slippy briefly, realizing that the toad had _also _been carrying his own weapon. He gulps nervously.

The fox stops short, and stares at Zoroark for a long time, then Red for a short time, and finally Auros for the longest time. The bird sighs loudly.

"Jeez, Fox, you're makin' them uncomfortable!"

_At least he has some sense._

Slippy breaks in finally. "Glad you guys could make it!" he says, and points to the fox. "That's Fox McCloud."

He points to the bird. "That's Falco Lombardi. By the way," he says, now talking to Fox and Falco. "There was another one of them, Link or something, but that one had already left to the castle."

"Great. Look, ah.." the fox says to Zoroark, then scratches his head. He turns to Auros. "Ah..."

Finally, he just sighs and throws up his hands, turning to Red. "Do you understand me?"

Red nods quickly, and straightens up.

"What is this place?"

"The world is called Hyrule. As far as I know, this area is all that Hyrule consists of," Red says, innocently. Fox and Falco glance at each other, before laughing out loud.

"Now, I don't mean to discredit you, kid," Falco says, still chuckling. "But y'see, this is a planet. _A sphere?" _

He lifts up his arms and dramatically draws a giant circle, before doubling over and laughing again. Red shrugs nervously.

"Well, I s'pose it's better than the dog over there and that beast."

Auros narrows his eyes_. Why must everyone assume I'm a dog? _He glances over at Zoroark, who he assumes is thinking some of the same things.

"Oh, look at that. I pissed it off. Cute," Falco says harshly. Fox glares at his partner, giving him a warning, before turning back to Slippy.

"Any other information you were able to receive?"

"Hm... nope! I think I'm going to grab my tools and head for the castle. That one guy – Link – said that we can stay there. What a nice guy!" he says, turning around on his heel and reentering the ship.

Zoroark suddenly walks up to the Falco, and begins to shout.

"How about you judge someone based on their personality, rather than what they look like for a change? Or are you too stupid and close minded to even consider the feelings of others before you speak!? Here, howabout this – you're just some idiotic bird whom I'm pretty sure is _completely _mentally insane, because you wear that hideous flight sui-"

"Zoroark, return!" Red shouts, throwing the Pokémon ball at Zoroark. The dark-type growls once more, before he is sucked in. The ball bounces back into Red's hand, and he clips it on his belt.

To Falco, Fox, and Red, that was just an unintelligible string of 'Zoro!'s and 'Ark!'s, along with various other grunts. But Auros was grinning wildly, proud of his friend for standing up to Falco. Red shakes his head and apologizes profusely.

"Nice tech," Fox says, smiling. "May I see that device?"

Red stops, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I value them way too much to let anyone but me use them. I can tell you what they are, but that's it."

Fox nods, understanding. Falco shrinks back. Despite him not understanding a word the dark Pokémon had said to him, he still felt insulted.

Red quickly describes and explains the red and white ball, showing off the ability for it to expand by pressing the front button. Auros listens carefully, interested himself in how they work. Perhaps if he was caught by one of them one day, he could use the knowledge to get away...

"'Ey! You just gonna keep standing there or what?"

Auros blinks out of his thoughts, and looks at Falco, who had somehow gotten closer without him noticing. The bird was looking at him with amusement, while Fox was in the background shaking his head.

"Say something! Or are you too stupid to do even that?"

Auros's eyes flash quickly with anger, and the fire within them burn brighter than usual. Falco gasps as Auros thrusts a paw forward, and the bird grunts as he is shoved on the ground. Auros is on top of him immediately, growling.

"_You do not insult my intelligence. Apologize."_

Falco glares at the Aura Pokémon, before looking at Fox, then Red, and then finally back to Auros. "Telepathy? Should'a guessed. Ah well, I s'pose you and Krystal will get along _juuuust _fine then."

Auros presses more weight on him, and he sighs. "_Fine. _I'm sorry."

With a grunt, Auros gets off him and stands up, stalking backwards a couple feet and continues to glare at him. Falco gets up, and the sight of his back covered in dirt sends Fox into immediate fits of laughing.

"_How wrong _I was to think that you learned your lesson after that first creature was yelling at you crazily," Fox says in between laughs. Falco grunts and shrugs.

"What can I say? I try to make my first impressions a lasting one."

"Falco, you have _got _to work on making sure they're more than just _long lasting." _

Soft footsteps grab all of their attentions, and Slippy comes out of the ship with two giant toolboxes. He drops them, disregarding the contents inside as several tools clatter within the boxes. "Alright.. here we go. Saved the most valuable from the crash. I think we'll be stuck here for a while, until the Cornerian Army arrives to pick us up. Though, I don't know if they can find 'Hyrule'."

"Alright. Start heading to the castle. I'll catch up with you two in a second," Fox commands. Falco and Slippy turn and walk away.

"I apologize for Falco. Trust me, beyond his arrogance, he's totally cool. Between you and me, what sector is Hyrule in?"

Auros and Red glance at each other, before shaking their heads. "I don't know," Red says quickly. "How did you get here anyways?"

"Hmm... I recall the Great Fox – our crashed ship – sent in a transmission to us that they were being pulled into a dark colored portal. As soon as me and Falco received the transmission, we immediately turned around and followed them in."

"Are you all working together?" Red asks curiously. Fox nods.

"Indeed. Our team is known as 'Star Fox', and we're a band of mercenaries who complete pretty much any mission available in the Lylat System. However, one of the core planets of the galaxy is known as Corneria, and we actually spend a lot of time making sure that planet stays safe. In return, we get their assistance when needed. All we need to do now is to repair the Long Range Transmitter on our ship, and we should be on our way soon."

"Well..." Red says, trailing off. Auros knows what he is about to say.

"_I believe you may not actually be where you think you are. You described the portal as dark... did it have a purple hue to it?" _Fox nods at the statement. _"Unfortunately, that means you have suffered the same fate here as Red and I."_

"Red, eh? Interesting name," Fox declares, turning to Auros. "And what is yours?"

"_Auros."_

"Also quite interesting. I would like to know though; what fate were you speaking of."

Auros looks at Red, then shakes his head and smiles. _"A concept I am too familiar with. I call it... involuntary inter-dimensional traveling. Simply put, that portal has transported you to another dimension. You will not be able to reach the Cornerian Army using any kind of transmitter, unless it can travel between dimensions."_

Fox's mouth is open. When Auros finishes, he realizes this and quickly shuts it and presses on his temple, shaking his head. "You mean to tell me that there is _no _way for us to get back?"

Auros shakes his head grimly. _"Not at the moment, at least. Perhaps in the future, you will be able to."_

"Great. That's just great," Fox sighs exasperatedly, still shaking his head. "I guess it isn't your fault. We should probably catch up to the others, or else they'll be wondering where we are."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Fall : Part III**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Link hastily made his introduction to the Star Fox team, and assigned them four small rooms close to each other. He made a quick introduction of himself, the people, and the land, then hurried off to talk to Princess Zelda.

_I guess that was expected. I do not think Link likes getting on the bad side of his people, and these recent events are surely not helping his situation._

Auros pries open the door to his bedroom, yawning a little, and plans on a little bit of early morning training. On the way, though, he makes a realization.

Turning, he arrives at the door of one of the members of the Star Fox team. Krystal. She hadn't waken up the day they rescued her, and with Auros scanning her room, he discovers that she still hasn't awaken.

As quietly as possible, he turns the doorknob and pushes his way in, closing the door softly behind him. He shuffles soundlessly to the bed, and scans her with his powerful eyes.

_Interestingly enough, it would appear that her aura is stronger than the rest of her team's aura._

The Aura Pokémon makes his way over to the far wall, slumping down to the ground and hugging his knees. The blue vixen turns over once, letting one of her arms drape over her bed. Auros watches this lazily, and soon enough the quiet and strangely comforting atmosphere of the room lulls him back to sleep.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_The Continuum._

_Here I am again. A place filled with the souls of many, yet a place that remains desolate regardless. Desperation clouds many as they travel here, the expanse never ending in any direction. No choice to go forward until you are cast away back down._

_I ask myself constantly: How many others are like me? How many Pokémon does Arceus personally intervene with for his own divine purposes?_

_Is what I am doing good? Am I being manipulated into some deeper scheme that may ultimately lead to something that is so dreadful, that I can not even comprehend recording it here?_

_I don't know. It is very confusing. I remind myself constantly that in some visions of mine, I see other powerful Pokémon in similar situations. Pokémon who exhibit extraordinary power, which may even exceed the Legendaries themselves. I have not received my chance to personally meet any of them, but I anticipate the day when I will._

_For now, though, I must face my rival and savior. _

"_Auros."_

_Arceus's deep voice booms around me, and I experience a mild shudder. I turn to face him, still somewhat angry. Of course, he already knows._

"_I know you are upset with what happened. In due time, it will all be explained to you. Auros, you must remain patient with us – we are acting in what is best for the population of the dimensions, as well as providing help to you as well."_

"_Help?" I respond harshly, narrowing my eyes. "You have done nothing but remind me of my painful memories with Indigo. And then you make him betray me? How should I ever believe that you are acting in the interests of me?"_

"_It will take time. The visions and flashbacks will pass, and you will reconcile with your differences. You must understand, Auros, that this is necessary. Dozens of dimensions count on you."_

_I huff, turning away and gripping my chest fur tightly. I felt the need to explode right then and there, but amazingly I keep my cool. "So now there are dozens of dimensions who will be in great peril if I fail to accomplish my goal? You couldn't find anyone else? Why would you have ever cared about me? If I never met Indigo, if I never dealt with the loss of my mother and father as you have destined it to happen, I would be much, much happier than I am now. So I will ask again: why me?"_

_I turn around, facing Auros with a saddened glare. He looks back with pain in his eyes._

"_Because you deserve it."_

_I contemplate the words for a moment, but they fail to make any sense to me. "Explain."_

_Arceus sighs, deep and heavy, and kneels down to look me directly in the eyes. Even I can not argue that his eyes are more powerful than mine, in terms of inducing emotion. I shiver._

"_Auros, there are others out there who are like you. Others that I have provided my own forms of divine intervention with. I can assure you that many of them came out a lot better than before I intervened. It will take time, but you will come to realize that it is not simply for selfish reasons. I want to help you too. You must be patient, Auros."_

_I begin to tremble. It is that kind of tremble that is not necessarily from excitement, joy, anger, fear, sadness, angst, or frozen temperatures. Rather, it is the unexplainable kind. The one you get after a large event, that you really don't know why you are trembling, but it happens anyways. Adrenaline, perhaps._

"_A-Arceus," I sputter out, not really sure how to respond._

"_I can't stop the visions and painful memories. That is a product of your own mind, and you must deal with them yourself. If I were to stop them myself, it would defeat the purpose of what we are doing."_

_I consider the words, but he continues. "These are not your only trials that you will be faced with. Inevitably, you will face issues that you would have never considered. All of them will strengthen you. All of them will help you get over your repressed memories, and I hope that one day you will live a much happier life. But patience is key here, Auros."_

_As he finishes, he begins to fade away, and leaves a final sentence hanging within my mind._

"_And Auros, I was only vaguely aware of your existence, until the fateful day when your father was attacked and killed by that Absol."_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Hello?"

A pleasant sounding female voice tickles Auros's ear, and he opens his eyes slowly. Light shines in, and his pupils dilate quickly to accommodate. The sight of a blue vixen only inches away from his face prompts him to yelp and jump to his feet. She laughs.

"Hope you had a nice sleep. Your bawling woke me up."

Auros's face flushed immediately and he looked at the ground as he fervently wiped away the wetness from his face.

_Again._

__He looks up again, seeing Krystal looking at him with amusement. "That was pretty cute, if you ask me. I can also tell that you are an intelligent creature. Tell me, can you speak?"

Auros tilts his head, then nods. _"I can. How did you come to that conclusion?"_

She smiles and closes her eyes, and Auros senses that she is concentrating. _"Haven't used this in a while," _she communicates telepathically, taking the Aura Pokémon by surprise. _"Don't be alarmed. I simply came to the conclusion because you understood what I said. May I ask a question, though?"_

"_I don't know why my eyes are pulsing," _Auros responds, suppressing a groan. Her smile drops.

"Oh," she says out loud again. Auros blinks and looks away, staring out the window and waiting for her to continue.

"What's your name?"

"_Auros."_

"Hm. I like that name. Has almost a legendary feel to it, you know? Anyways.. can you tell me where the rest of my team is?"

Auros nods and gestures at the door. They both exit, and the Pokémon points down the hall, outlining the next three doors as the three members of her team. She smiles and thanks him, walking away and entering the first door.

The Aura Pokémon sighs and closes her door, before returning to his own room. His internal clock tells him that it is midday.

_Well, she seemed nice. I can imagine we will get along just fine with our similar abilities._

Auros hears a soft knock on the door, and he pads over to it. Cracking it open, he sees the face of Link smiling shyly.

"Want something to eat?"

_Oh. I forgot to eat again. I should mention that Lucario have this extreme ability to just go for weeks and weeks without any form of food or drink, provided they sleep properly. It isn't healthy, but it happens regardless when special circumstances call for our minds to be focused elsewhere._

Auros nods, and Link opens the door completely and stands aside to let him out. They walk side by side for a few seconds in silence.

"Hey, you and Red getting along fine?"

"_Yes."_

"How about his Pokémon?"

"_..." _Auros thinks for a moment about Zoroark, and how they seemed to develop a closer bond than usual. Although he can't necessarily confirm it, he believes that the dark-type might have been shooting for a friendship. _"Yes," _he finally confirms.

_Interesting how everyone wants to be my friend suddenly. It is almost exhausting._

"Hm. Alright then, that's all I wanted to know. I assume it will take time for you – er... well, _us_, to warm up to the Star Fox team. Red filled me in on the details last night about them. I guess I shouldn't have treated them so harshly. They couldn't help it."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

After they consume the proper amount of material to fully replenish their energy reserves , the Star Fox team wakes up at last. Apparently, their experiences from the day before managed to keep them asleep for over ten hours, and most of them looked groggy but well rested.

Auros's ears perk up in his room, and he sets down a notepad and pen. He focuses in on the noise.

"_...range transmitter should be able to notify the army."_

"Yeah?" Falco's voice is more pronounced now as the source of noise moves closer.

"Hopefully," a higher pitched voice responds. "Though it will take a while to fi-"

Auros hears another door open, and watches in his aura vision as Fox exits his room and catches up to the other two.

"Hey!" he greets them. They nod at him and acknowledge him. "What's going on?"

"Just heading back to the ship to repair the LTR," Falco says smoothly. Auros watches as the memory of him learning that they had arrived in a different dimension flashes through Fox's mind.

"I think that'll be a waste of time."

Falco turns and stares at Fox incredulously, and Fox shakes his head. "Yeah. Auros told me that we aren't actually in our _dimension _anymore. Rather, Hyrule is part of another dimension that we warped to."

"Auros, eh? Is that the blue dog?"

Auros growls lowly. _Jackal. Not _'just' _a dog._

"Yeah," Fox responds quickly, apparently also uncomfortable. Falco shakes his head and rubs his temple, much in the same way that Fox had when he learned the information.

"Well, we'll try anyways. Hopefully prove them wrong. If not, we are in quite the situation," Falco says seriously, looking insightful. Fox nods and bounds off to catch up to Slippy, while Falco trails behind closely.

Auros sighs and pads up to the window, his anger quickly ebbing away from Falco's previous comment. He watches as they exit the castle within a couple minutes, noticing that they had also gathered Krystal before they left.

He had an indescribable feeling that they would become _very _important soon.

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_**Next Chapter**_

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_New day, new mission. I always knew they would pull me out of retirement. They did it once, and they wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Arrived here maybe a week ago? Been at sea ever since. I've always liked the Atlantic... it's quite beautiful in some sports. Apparently not where we're going, though. Sat's got some intelligence on a possible energy source that can't be explained. Some kind of dark portal or some shit, from what we were told. Guess we'll see what it is when we get there._

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_**Closure**_

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This is a slightly shorter chapter. Totaling about 8,100 words by the time I've finished the 'Closure' section. This is the last chapter in the four chapters that I've now rewrote, and will now continue with _completely new content._ Hooray.

Apologies for the lack of action this chapter. It is bound to happen occasionally, where chapters will have hardly any actual fighting or action in them, and more plot and character construction. Personally, I like those chapters a lot more than the fighting ones.

I guess we can wrap up this chapter on these plot points:

Something is developing between Auros and Zoroark.

How long will it take Link, Auros, and Red to warm up to the Star Fox team?

Will anything happen between Auros and Krystal?

And most importantly – how much more drama & angst will come from Auros? Is he safe from it finally, or does Arceus and Indigo have more in store for him?

Questions I _obviously _know the answer to, and am just stating here so you have some kind of guide. Also, it makes for great filler text as I don't have much to say anymore in these later chapters.

Say, anyone ever play Silent Hunter 4? I'm listening to 'Silent Hunter 4 music – Stalker 5'. Can find it on YouTube by searching exactly that. I wrote the last 1,000 words of this chapters with that one track on a loop. Makes for great project music.


	5. Confusion

**:**

_**Fanfiction #4 : Nexus**_

_**Auros Trilogy**_

_Rifted** → Nexus → **Concord_

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_**Introduction**_

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Here we go. I'm having some seriously high hopes for this story, and I like how it is progressing myself. I hope that you can say the same about it. 

Also – mini-rant time for a couple things. Seriously, I don't understand the attraction to humor SSB stories. Someone PLEASE tell me why over half of them seem to be of the humor genre, and people somehow enjoy the crap that _most _of them are. That's not even my opinion, they all have just _bad _formatting and are almost impossible to read. I don't get it at all.

(side note – I know of at least one person who might read that and may get offended by it. I'm not talking about your story, don't worry.)

I also am failing to find any decent stories with Lucario as a major character, that aren't humor or are badly formatted. Like seriously, I think I've pawed through hundreds of pages now of both the Pokémon category and the SSB category, and I can NOT find anything more. Please help.

Third thing – I am having a SERIOUS withdrawal of privacy right now. Please god help me. I can't take the noise anymore.

Slightly shorter chapter. Don't worry, the ending makes up for it.

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_**Information**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

**Updates**

**October 25, 2014 : Revision started**

**November 4, 2014 : Revision finished**

**November 12, 2014 : Minor edits**

I have a specific picture of Auros on my profile, which is how I envision him. I suggest you check that out, along with the other information that is there.

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_**Confusion**_

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_**Act I**_

_**Confusion : Part I**_

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"_**Let's see..." **_

"Just one?"

"Just one."

"Any recent activity?"

"Negative, sir."

A pair of binoculars lower, the woman behind them frowning. She glares at the horizon as if it offended her. "How many more nautical miles left?" she asks, frustrated. The purple orb in the distance has managed to make everyone wary.

"Five," the ship captain responds.

"Well, I suppose we should call him up now."

"Agreed."

The captain reaches over to the ship phone on one of the terminals. He dials a few numbers, before bringing the phone to his ear.

"_Hello?" _the crackly voice asks groggily on the other end. The captain's mouth curves downwards, and he sighs.

"Snake? Sorry to wake you, but we need you to get prepped and be ready to go in one hour."

The captain stares onwards with a stoic expression as he listens to the phone being dropped, and a long and drawn out groan come from the mercenary on the other end. Finally, after several seconds, Snake picks up the phone again.

"_Fine," _he mutters, before slamming the ship phone back into its port. He yawns and rolls off the bed, slowly getting back up and aimlessly padding around the room.

The captain sighs and places the phone back into its port. "I hate how he can be so disrespectful, just because he is a mercenary. He's talking to the captain of a United States Supercarrier. Does he not realize that?"

One of the officers turns and half-smiles. "Sir, I believe he does realize it, but just doesn't care."

"I suppose. I'll be in my cabin if anyone needs me."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_Precisely _one hour later, the captain of the vessel looks up from his paperwork, startled by the knock on his door.

"Who is it?" he asks, annoyed that he was disturbed.

"Who else?" the voice outside the door responds sarcastically. "It's Snake."

"Come in."

The door clicks and creaks inwards, and Snake walks in, in his usual full combat gear. "So. All set to send me out there once again?"

The captain rubs the bridge of his nose, breathing out to relieve the annoyance. "Snake, come on now. You aren't working for a mercenary group anymore. You are working for the U.S. Navy. Please, spare me your informality."

"I'm sorry, _your highness," _Snake retorts, drawing out the final two words and then chuckling at himself.

"Just... alright. Yes, we're good to go. We have a helicopter waiting. Again, you don't have to do this if you don't want to, I mean it is the Uni-"

"I am aware of the risks," Snake inputs quickly, his attitude changing to one of more somberness. "And I will continue with the mission."

"Alright, well... when you are ready, go ahead and board the helicopter. The pilot will fly you out there and you will be paradropped into the dark portal."

"Will do."

"And Snake," the captain says as the mercenary turns to leave. "Hopefully the communicator will work on the other side. Well, if there is another side to the portal. If it does, keep in touch. We're counting on you."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

On the deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, an F-35 multirole fighter takes off vertically, sending huge swaths of wind around the entire deck. Snake braves the wind as he walks towards his destination – an SH-60 Seahawk. Perfect for transporting troops over sea.

Snake boards the chopper, buckling himself in as the rotors of the helicopter speed up and provide lift, carrying them upwards and away from the carrier. He watches the gigantic ship grow smaller and smaller, until it is nothing but a speck in the distance.

"One mike!" the pilot shouts. Snake glances ahead, noticing that the dark portal was much larger up close than it was from the ship. A slight twinge of anxiety passes through him, but he grunts and shakes it off. The process was too important, and they were too far now for him to turn around and give up.

The minute, however, passes by at an agonizingly slow pace. Despite his best efforts, the anxiety keeps increasing and Snake soon finds himself breathing quickly, in short breathes.

"Alright, we're good to go," the pilot says simply. Snake looks down at the portal, and places both his hands on the outside of the helicopter. He takes one last look at the supercarrier in the distance, breathes, and thrusts forward out into the cold Atlantic air.

_Isn't this against every policy the government has..? _Snake asks himself in thought as the portal consumes him, bringing him to the unknown.

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_**Confusion : Part II**_

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Auros silently watches as Zoroark battles Red's other Pokémon. After studying his strategy, Auros notices that it is based around swift and constant attacks, to beat down the opponent through unrelenting moves. They may be light, and not deal that much damage, but his endurance is able to outlast most of his opponents.

However, his thoughts are elsewhere. He stares at Zoroark, as waves of different emotions pass through him. Emotions which, to Auros, he had never experienced before, and he certainly could not identify them at the moment.

Zoroark sprints towards Ivysaur, as the grass-type braces itself. It lashes out with a vine-whip attack, but the dark-type easily evades it and slams into the smaller Pokémon. Ivysaur skids back a few feet, shaking itself and lashing out again with several more vines. Zoroark grunts as they knock him out from underneath his feet, and he falls into the dirt. Now emitting a low growl, he switches tactics and flies towards Ivysaur, throwing many light punches in rapid succession.

While Ivysaur is able to evade most of them, the punches strike key areas that lower its endurance very quickly. Auros focuses on the battle again just as Zoroark jumps away, leaving behind a battered, bruised, and swaying grass-type in his wake. Ivysaur groans and collapses, heaving for air. Red throws a Pokémon ball and recaptures it.

"Great job, Zoroark. I like that strategy," Red says, patting Zoroark's head. He looks over at Auros, who is staring at them both bewilderingly. "Heh, seems like Auros does too!"

Zoroark's head whips around, and he stares at Auros. They lock eyes for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Finally, the dark-type grunts and pads on over to the Aura Pokémon.

"You seem surprised."

"Well, I didn't expect you to pull off your strategy like that so quickly. Usually it would take you a couple minutes. Ivysaur.. he was down in less than half a minute..." Auros responds, shifting on his ledge so Zoroark could sit next to him.

"Yeah, it was simple though. You gotta find those key areas of your opponents. Find out what weakens them."

Auros tilts his head, feeling as though that had a double meaning. He ignores it for now. "So... how have you and Red been getting along?"

"Eh..." he says, trailing off for a moment. "Not too well. Remember when he called for me, saying Zoro?"

Auros nods. "Well, he hadn't used that name in months. Maybe he's trying to get back to where we were.. but.. I don't know. I feel like we are drifting apart. I can't explain it, but we used to be best friends. Now I feel like I am just his Pokémon to battle with. I really hate that feeling. Like nobody needs me except for my battle skills."

Auros flinches at the final sentence. "I would not say that just yet. Perhaps Red just wants to spend more time with his other Pokémon? You did tell me you were his primary."

Zoroark shrugs. "Still am. That doesn't explain why he's drifted apart from me as a friend, though. After all we've been through together."

"Alright, but please don't say 'nobody needs you' ever again. That hurts to hear," Auros says. Zoroark looks at him, surprised. "For anyone," Auros quickly mumbles.

For a second, Auros thinks he sees disappointment in the other Pokémon's face. However, a voice cuts him off from any potential question.

"Zoroark!"

"Well, as you can see, Red's already back to calling me just that..." he mutters, looking at Auros sadly. "Seeya later, Auros."

Auros sighs as he watches Zoroark go back to his trainer, wishing that the wave of emotions would just _stop. _

That was the least of his concerns, though, when a new sensation entered the area.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Ugh... I-I... I'm alive..?"

A mercenary clad in black body armor stumbles to his feet, briefly testing his limits before surveying the surrounding area. "Hm..."

The area was not of anything noteworthy, being a small dirt clearing surrounded by thick foliage and wide trees. Due to this, Snake could not see very far.

He presses a button on his wrist, intending to remake contact with everyone else, but is met with only a crackly static noise. "Great..." he utters to himself, clicking the button again and stopping the sound. Once more, he looks around. The wind is sifting through the area gently, complemented with the occasional songs of the avian creatures passing through.

Snake pulls out another tool. This time, it is a small GPS. He powers it on, staring at the screen as it slowly boots up.

_**Could not locate network.**_

"Well, that confirms it. Either I am in the middle of the Amazon, or that portal took me to another planet," he says to himself, shoving the miniature electronic device back into his side-bag. He looks up, noticing that the sun was indicating that it was about midday. Snake was always one to be quite perceptive on many subjects, providing valuable insight and a deeper level of thinking when it was necessary. Most people would have assumed that the GPS satellites simply were not working, rather then Snake's assumption that he was no longer even _on _Earth.

Regardless, the mercenary silently pushes through the bushes, parting the thick foliage and scattering several small animals. His well-trained self control manages to keep him focused, and not be distracted or startled by the sudden influx of noises.

After several minutes, he arrives to the edge of the forest, peering around and searching for any signs of life. Seeing nothing, Snake walks out of the forest and into the gigantic plain area. To him, it appeared to stretch for miles. Much more interesting, however, is the fact that there is a gigantic castle barely visible in the distance.

_What is this? Did I land in the 14th century?_

He chuckles at his own thought, brushing it away. Every theory of time travel always baffled him, and he wasn't one to believe it was possible himself. His smile drops to a frown, though, when his keen eye catches movement to his right – also on the edge of the forest he just exited. He narrows his eyes when he sees a total of four figures. He drops to the ground and crawls swiftly back into the forest, avoiding every chance possible of being caught by the people. Once in the forest, he moves as fast as possible towards the figures, while keeping a safe distance away from the plains.

It only takes him a few minutes. As he nears the figures, he slows his pace back down to a crawl, and drops back to the ground to do precisely that. He can now hear muffled voices – still not enough to make out, though. The mercenary inches closer, unholstering his pistol just to be on the safe side. The voices begin to translate into intelligible sentences. He first hears a young teenager's voice.

"...you Link. They get along very well together. I guess it is for the better. Zoroark and I have been drifting apart recently and... I've felt pretty bad for him."

"Don't worry too much about it, Red," a deeper and more noble voice responds.

"I know, I know. He's pretty tough. After all, you did watch the battle between him and Ivysaur. I am still amazed by that.

"Likewise."

"I'll call him over. Say some things to him, and hopefully resolve some long-standing issues between us."

The teenager, apparently 'Red', pauses a second, cupping his hands into a miniature microphone and facing away from Snake. "Zoroark!" he calls loudly. The mercenary barely suppresses a gasp as a dark-furred creature almost as tall as Red walks over. They communicate for a few seconds, before the teenager lightheartedly pats the creature on the head. Snake counts the figures.

_1... 2... 3..._

…

_Where's the fourth?_

His question is hastily answered as he peers forward once more past Red and his creature. A smaller one, this time blue and cream colored, comes forth and stares off in his general direction. Snake freezes for a moment, but quickly remembered that the distance between them is easily at least 50 meters. He was well concealed in bushes.

He spots another one, apparently 'Link', in a green tunic and long green hat. Link briskly walks over to Red, and them plus their creature all start conversing with each other. Ignoring them, Snake adjusts his gaze to the blue creature.

_Now _he was getting worried. The blue one was staring _directly _at his location now, almost as if it could see him with those ruby colored eyes. Snake attempts to reassure himself, but the creature steals a glance behind him, looks back forward, and begins to coldly walk towards where the mercenary is currently laying prone.

He freezes, holds his breath, and attempts to make as few movements as possible. But the creature keeps approaching, apparently confident in its decision that there was someone here.

_And there IS someone here, and that 'someone' needs to run already!_

He urges himself to get up, to run away as quickly as possible, but something about the creature gives him the feeling that if he tries that, he will be caught and torn to bits.

Instead, the creature simply stops, about 10 meters away now. Snake can get a more pronounced view of it, noting its agile tail and large ears. After focusing on the creature's eyes, he could've sworn that they were pulsin-

The creature grunts loudly and tilts its head to the side. Snake shuffles just a little, now _extremely _uncomfortable. Its ears perk up as soon as the mercenary does this, and he immediately regrets the decision. Completely trapped now, unable to make a noise, Snake prepares himself to be attacked, aiming his pistol directly at the creature.

Instead, the creature turns away and starts to head back towards the other two.

"Auros? You seem troubled," Link says. The creature, Auros, turns towards them and stares at them.

"Really? Can he.." Link says again, as if responding to an invisible sentence. Snake is confused by this, but is now more concerned that Link suddenly dropped into a hushed tone and is looking his way. Red is doing likewise.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Snake scrambles to his feet, turns around, and breaks into a _full _sprint away from the plains and into the forest. He doesn't bother to listen to see if they are following, too concerned for his own well-being. After several minutes of sprinting, he skids to a halt and looks in the direction he just ran from.

Unable to see much, he opts instead to lay down and hide in a few small bushes surrounding a large clearing after hearing a strange noise. He stays completely still, and nearly gasps when he sees Link and Red emerge on the other side of the clearing, looking around.

Auros follows immediately after, looking around the clearing. He stares at the other two, and they both nod and begin to look around. Auros, on the other hand, gazes in Snake's direction again, which was really starting to creep him out.

Auros turns around and walks out of sight, and Snake focuses his attention on the other two. They didn't fit too well together.. Link looked like he was straight out of the medieval ages, while Red just looked like a normal teenager. He also warily eyes the massive sword attached to Link's green tunic...

Snake freezes. An abnormal sensation made itself _very _present on the back of his neck. Fur pressing into it. His breath hitches, and the mercenary feels the need to struggle, but is completely disabled.

"_Greetings," _a deep voice says calmly in his head.

"W-who are you?" he stutters, mentally face-palming at his break in discipline. Something behind him chuckles darkly.

"_You need not know that yet, Snake."_

"Wha-?" Snake nearly shouts, catching the attention of the other two. They come rushing over. "How do you know my name?" he asks incredulously.

Another paw reaches forward. The mercenary's heart drops a bit when he notices the creature had a metallic spike on the back of its black paw, indicating that it was, indeed, the same one he saw earlier. The paw plucks the pistol he is holding. After a few seconds, the paw on the back of his neck is released as well, and he tests his limbs.

Without hesitation, Snake immediately jumps up and whips around, facing his aggressor. Auros is already in a battle stance, having both his paws raised and a strange blue flame emitting from both. He bares his teeth, trying to intimidate Snake. However, he is not fazed by this at all and lurches forward, attempting to land some well-placed hits on it.

It responds immediately. When Snake thrusts forward to hit him, the creature simply zips out of the way at a speed incomprehensible to him. He tries different styles of attacking, but none seem to be able to catch the creature off guard. Finally, he accidentally lets his own guard slip, and Auros sees this and takes advantage of it, kicking his feet and sending him crashing to the floor.

Snake scrambles up and glares at Auros. He deliberately reaches for an item on his belt, pulling out a small combat knife he uses in emergency situations. "_Now _you've done it," he growls. Auros blinks, before falling into another battle stance.

With extreme precision and speed, he throws the knife as hard as he can. Apparently not expecting this, Auros flinches and the knife heads straight for his skull. Snake is about to shout in victory...

_CLANG_

The knife smashes into the creature's head, and even Snake lets his mouth open in shock as the weapon falls to the floor, bent uselessly. He looks back up at Auros, seeing a small indent where the knife had hit.

Snake's eyes quickly shift towards his pistol, a short distance away, before looking back at Auros. The creature picks up on this quickly, and he suddenly narrows his eyes and growls, holding out his arms. Not bothering to see his plan, Snake dives for the gun, rolling on the ground several times to increase his speed and momentum. He picks it up and cocks it, whipping around and pointing it at Auros, who was now rushing at him with some kind of bone between his paws. Time seems to slow as Snake presses down on the trigger.

_BANG_

The shot snaps loudly as it breaks the sound barrier, pushing through the air at a speed faster than the naked eye can see, hitting one black furry leg and grinding its way through a fleshy metal mixture, and splitting one bone in half, before exiting out the other side and slamming into an unsuspecting tree.

Auros gasps, trips, as his bone-weapon quickly fizzes away. He falls to the ground and begins to writhe in pain, letting out loud and strangled groans. Snake feels guilt almost immediately, but this is pushed to the side when he hears two startled gasps come from a short distance away.

Both Link and Red are staring at the bleeding creature on the ground in shock, their expressions showing deep anger. They did not expect Snake to _shoot _their friend.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_BANG_

Link gasps and takes a step back. He stares at Auros, who is now lying on the ground and writhing in pain. The human who shot him looks at the Pokémon with a stoic expression, not showing any emotions of any kind. He finally looks up and notices Link and Red.

"You..." Red starts, trailing off in deep anger. Link breathes in and out, trying to calm himself from any irrational action.

_Angst. Feelings of hopelessness. Feelings of loss over a friend. Unwillingness to create new friendships to avoid causing the same issues. Hatred towards a friend he once loved dearly. Hatred at himself for the gift that he has. Hatred at himself for what he has just done. Hatred at himself for things he has done in the past._

It all rushes back to Link. He remembers his brief confrontation with Auros, and how all the feelings were overwhelmingly sent to himself. He remembers the comforting moment they had together, Link soothing the sobbing Pokémon as Auros experienced feelings on a whole new level. Most importantly of all, he remembers the life-changing friendship that they formed that day.

Anger replaces shock, and Link charges the mercenary in pure _rage._ Rage that had never been previously existent in himself.

Only a few moments later was he on top of Snake, violently punching the poor mercenary in the face while Red was desperately trying to pull him off. Snake had virtually no time to react, and was soon unconscious before Link finally got control of himself. They quickly focused their attention back on Auros, who was now only writhing on the ground and groaning softly, his breathing becoming light. Link pulls out a potion, but Red holds up his hand.

"Let me take care of it."

He kneels next to Auros, dropping his bag to the ground and pulling out a purple spray bottle. "Super Potion," he mutters, spraying the gunshot wound. Auros gasps lightly, squeezing his eyes even more shut. "Heals any major wounds, to be used in pretty dire circumstances. Could be worse, which would need a Hyper Potion or Full Restore. Auros will be fine."

Link audibly breathes out a sigh of relief, his anger quickly flowing away. He turns back to the mercenary with regret, pulling out his pack of potions again and administrating it to the unconscious man.

"We need to take them back," Link says, hoisting the human over his shoulder. Red grimly nods, and does likewise as he finishes wrapping Auros's leg.

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_**Confusion : Part III**_

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_Auros didn't hear it coming. The bullet from the man's rifle had given him the most pain he had ever felt in his life. _

_Had Indigo not been there, he would have certainly died._

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Auros's eyes creak open. They pulse dimly in the darkness, barely illuminated by the candle on the other side of the room. He shifts his leg, and winces when a sharp pain goes through his entire body. He lays there for a few more minutes, attempting to catch his breath, and is about to try again when the door clicks open.

"Auros, I see you are finally awake," Link interrupts, closing the door behind him and walking over to the bed. Auros smiles up at him weakly. "You've been out for a week."

The Aura Pokémon's eyes widen, and he barely suppresses a gasp. Link shrugs. "It was actually much worse than we thought. It was... a struggle to keep you alive. We have no idea why, but apparently you are quite weak to bullets."

Auros shakes his head, softly coughing. _"I.. know,"_ he whispers. _"Happened before."_

"Really?" Link responds, busying himself with tending to Auros's bandages. Auros nods and shudders a bit.

"_Same.. spot, too."_

"Who did it?" Link asks simply, tearing off some bandages.

"_Just some... human. Didn't like me.. trespassing, I-" _Auros stops abruptly, gasping when Link starts to apply some kind of treatment to the gunshot wound. Link shakes his head.

"Auros, how can you manage to keep getting yourself in these kinds of situations?"

"_What?" _Auros wasn't too sure he understood the question.

"Well... I mean, first you land on this planet in a comet, and nearly die through loss of blood. Then you nearly die because you are squeezed to death, and come back to life somehow. Finally, you are _shot _and are out for a week. Now, you're telling me you were shot before?"

Auros is silent for several moments, and Link grunts and goes back to work on the bandages. "I can tell you this – it is worrying all of us like crazy. You know, Zoroark, Red's Pokémon? He's refused to train for the entire week that you've been out, holding some kind of silent vigil."

At this, Auros quickly sits up and stares in shock at Link, who only chuckles and pushes him back down on the bed. "Surprising?" he says coldly, then shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I just got angry there. That doesn't usually happen."

"_Why?" _

"Why what?" Link asks, rewrapping the final bandages on Auros's leg. He pulls up a stool and sits on it so he is at eye-level with the Pokémon.

"_Why did you get angry?"_

Link laughs. "I already said I don't know why. Why do you want to know?"

Auros leans back, sinking into the bed for the moment. The situation was only getting more and more complex and difficult to understand for him, and his mind began to swim chaotically. _"I.. I don't know. Please don't be angry anymore.." _he mumbles. Link's face immediately softens.

"I.. I'm sorry. I really don't know why I got so angry there. I.. I wasn't telling the truth." Link says, averting his gaze. "Look, you and Zoroark are spending so much time together, I can't help but to think that... well, I feel like you are pulling Zoroark away from Red, and it is _really _making the poor guy upset. I hate seeing friends upset, Auros. Don't you understand _my _situation?"

"_Wha-? I-I would never intentionally do something like that! What are you trying to say?"_

"I'm not trying to say anything, I guess.." Link sighs, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes. "It's good for you that you and Zoroark are bonding so easily. I just worry about Red. Maybe... spend more time with him?"

Auros blinks, before nodding sadly. _"I suppose you are correct..." _he responds. His eyes search the ceiling for a few moments, before they widen in recognition. Link sees this.

"Auros?"

The Aura Pokémon turns onto his side in the bed, not looking at Link but at his paws which are outstretched in front of him. He concentrates as hard as possible, using the last of his strength. Link stares incredulously as a hazy box forms between Auros's paws.

"_My storage."_

Auros pulls off the cover of the box, and peers inside. He paws through a few items, accidentally dropping a sheet of paper to the floor, before pulling out a necklace. A small picture hangs off the necklace. Link looks closer, seeing that it was a slightly grainy picture of Red.

"You don't seem like the type to keep souvenirs, Auros," Link chuckles, reaching down and picking up the paper. Out of habit, he reads the first line. "Dear Indigo... I am addressing this lett-"

Auros lunges forward and snatches the letter out of Link's hands, growling furiously and glaring at him with such intensity that Link flinches. He violently shoves the paper back in the box, pushing the lid closed and quickly dissipating it. He turns to the other side so his back is to Link.

"I.. I'm sorry, I didn't t-"

"_Please.. go away."_

Link sits there in stunned silence for several more seconds, before realizing that the Pokémon would not be able to be reasoned with after a reaction like _that. _So, he picks up the stool, places it back in its original location, and swiftly retreats from the room.

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"This is Fox."

Snake hesitantly reaches out a hand, touching the fur of Fox's own hand. Link continues to introduce him to the rest of the team in the small meeting room.

"Link, you've hardly talked for nearly the whole week Auros has been out. Now you are suddenly very talkative... what's going on?" Fox asks back, letting go of Snake's hand. "Talk with Auros yet?" he follows up. Link nods.

"Yep. I guess that's also why I'm talking more. Just.. can't stand the drama sometimes."

"Mind tellin' us what happened?" Falco says, leaning against the counter of the castle kitchen. He waits for an answer, looking at all of them one by one.

"Shot Auros," Snake grunts, not even changing his expression as he says it. Falco stares at him in shock, apparently not expecting that. Fox shakes his head.

"Uh.." Link quickly interjects. "It's all fine now, though. Auros is resting and is fine, so we're all good. Just.. I don't think he wants to be bothered right now.." Link says, shuddering a little.

"So... you didn't tell our team for an _entire _week?" Falco says incredulously.

"Erhm.. you were... actually the only one who didn't know," Fox mutters in response. Falco shoots him a glare. His teammate throws up his hands. "Well, it just didn't seem that important to us! Besides, you were acting earlier like you didn't care about Auros at all!"

Krystal, at that exact moment, walks in. "Sorry, Falco. I should've told you," she adds quickly. Falco groans.

"C-Can we switch subjects?" Link interjects, nervously glancing at his feet. Fox, Falco, Krystal, Red, and Snake all stare at him expectantly. "Look. Falco, we're sorry. Krystal just.. overheard. I told Fox after a short while, but I guess you guys were so busy fixing your ship that the word didn't spread. Naturally, Red and Snake were there. So... whatever the case is, Auros is still _very _weak. He lost a lot of blood, and we still aren't sure if he'll... live. Can we stop arguing and focus on making sure he is alright?"

Silently, they all nod their heads and unanimously agree, casting wary glances at each other. Red releases his Pokémon and trudges off to his room, while the Star Fox team head back to their ship, excluding Krystal. She silently exits the meeting room without Link and Snake noticing, and heads up into the main area of the castle and into the housing section. The blue vixen stops at the door, staring it down as she battles a mental debate with herself.

_Would he welcome me into his room? I just want to help.. but he might need the rest._

"_Come in, Krystal," _a voice says in her head as she is about to turn away. She blushes slightly and opens the door, padding in and seeing Auros sitting up with his paws on his color-drained face, rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Hey," she greets simply, sitting on his bed and smiling sadly at him. Auros grunts and closes his eyes, breathing in deeply. They sit there for a few minutes before Krystal tries another approach.

"You seem somewhat down today. Anything wrong?"

"_..." _Auros pauses, recalling the incident earlier that morning with Link. He sighs and shakes his head. _"No.. I am still very weak."_

Krystal shifts uncomfortably. She knows he is lying, having been around the galaxy enough will do that. However, she decides not to approach the subject. "Alright. Look... we can speak telepathically to each other. If you need to talk to me in private.. I'm here."

Auros nods and closes his eyes again, and she leaves the room.

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_**Confusion : Part IV**_

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Auros's ear's twitch, then perk up, and finally he opens his eyes when he hears the door click.

_Who now?_

He stares at the door in frustration, only wanting to be left alone. It clicks once more softly, and Auros quickly realizes that the person on the other side wasn't trying to wake him. He sighs and lays back down, feigning sleep as the person outside finally comes in and silently makes his way over to Auros's bedside. It didn't take too much of his ability to realize that _he_ is Zoroark.

Zoroark simply stares at Auros, looking at him in ways that he failed to comprehend at that moment. After several minutes of this, Auros finally sighs and opens his eyes, and Zoroark jumps back, startled.

"S-Sorry! I'll just go!"

"No, wait!" Auros shouts subconsciously as Zoroark is turning to leave. The larger dark-type turns around again and looks at the Aura Pokémon, bewildered. "Don't... go."

Zoroark smiles and comes over to the bed, sitting on it the same way Krystal had. "How have you been? How has the recovery been going?" he asks with a hint of fear in his voice. Auros smiles back, basking in the sheer friendship exerting from Zoroark.

"Fine, I suppose. I have always had a weakness to bullets. Human weapons... they are incredibly violent sometimes."

"I..." Zoroark trails off. "I guess I wouldn't know how that feels."

Once again, Auros and Zoroark fall into a strangely uneasy silence. Both of them avoid looking at the other, feeling a strange tightening sensation.

"Auros..?" Zoroark slurs. Auros tilts his head in response. "Have you... ever had a mate?"

A cold shiver goes down Auros's spine when he says that, and he barely stops himself from jolting upright. "W-Why do you ask?"

"Well... it seems like you're just _so _lonely sometimes. Tell me... do you miss her?"

Auros runs the question through his head multiple times. "No! No.. it's not like that. There was never a 'her'. I do not have the time nor patience for love, Zoroark. Trust me on this one – I can tell you from a firsthand experience that it will not work well."

Zoroark stares at him. "What do you mean?" 

Auros closes his eyes and breathes out. "Once, there was somebody who I actually cared about. Someone that looked after me, and I looked after him. We worked together to defeat the evils that worked against us."

Zoroark quivers when he sees tears beginning to roll down Auros's fur. The Aura Pokémon shudders, then suddenly hardens and his expression turns stoic once more. "Then... there's nothing more. He betrayed me."

Zoroark gasps. "How?!"

"Gave me something that I did not want without proper warning," Auros says coldly, blinking his eyes. Zoroark notices this.

"Yes, my eyes," Auros quickly interjects. Zoroark closes his mouth. "Do you have any idea of what that's like? Having the ability to kill something uncontrollably? It's.. terrible." 

And then Auros's eyes soften once more. "But that was.. w-was nothing compared to what I d-did.." he whispers, his breaths becoming more ragged. Zoroark gasps and leans in. Auros breaks down that moment. He loudly sobs into Zoroark's warm fur, heaving for air as the dark-type tries his best to calm down the Aura Pokémon, rubbing his back. Auros lets out a final strangled sentence.

"I-I... It was me, Zoroark! I-we... I-" Auros chokes, crying even harder now. "I killed him, Zoroark! I-I _killed _Indigo!"

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_**Next Chapter**_

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_It felt nice to tell someone. To tell them of the horrific thing I did. I don't care what Indigo tells me – it was still a terrible thing and... I could never even think of doing that again. But people won't understand. There's so many more underlying issues... _

_Why is everything easier to tell Zoroark, anyways? Did I detect something more than friendship from him? It is too confusing..._

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_**Closure**_

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Yepo. You might've been able to guess it from the flashbacks and visions Auros had. Welcome to the primary reason for Auros's angst.

Yeah, that was the plan all along. But don't worry, there's still plenty more of that juicy _angsty action. _Er.. by that I mean of course Auros will have more struggles. We actually haven't even come close to the climax of the story yet. I do plan on making this story at least 150,000 words, to give you an idea.


	6. Flight

**:**

_**Fanfiction #4 : Nexus**_

_**Auros Trilogy**_

_Rifted** → Nexus → **Concord_

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_**Introduction**_

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Progress update : Slow. It's a bit depressing that this story seems to be getting very little attention. I might consider revising my first four chapters again to make them more refined in the future. I have this little fear that people are turning away because of small issues. Dangit, why aren't there more people who like the Lucario fandom?!

**So I should also mention that this chapter is easily one of the most important in this story. It is just **_**huge (in terms of importance).**_** Enjoy the read.**

Updated the dates. Screw all date formats. Also removed the message about reference pictures. Don't think that's very necessary anymore.

Also yay. The first chapter that outlines the main theme for this part of Trilogy!

Also, thanks for the continuous reviews, **GameManiac (on , AO3 readers).**

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_**Information**_

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**Updates**

**November 7, 2014 : Revision started**

**November 12, 2014 : Revision finished**

I have a specific picture of Auros on my profile, which is how I envision him. I suggest you check that out, along with the other information that is there.

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_**Flight**_

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_**Act I**_

_**Flight : Part I**_

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**Zoroark sighs. **The Aura Pokémon who had previously been sobbing on his shoulder had drifted off into sleep, overcome with the comfort and peacefulness of the situation. Zoroark grunts as he heaves the smaller Pokémon off his shoulders and back onto the bed. Auros's chest rises slowly and rhythmically.

_Click._

The door pushes in from the outside, and Link enters looking particularly weary. Zoroark stands and nods at him, and Link does likewise. He walks over to the bed, eyeing Auros up and down.

"Is he alright?" Link says, turning to Zoroark for his answer. The Illusion Pokémon nods in response. "Good. His leg will need more time to heal. The bone was split clean in half, and that's not good at all. I don't know if I have the heart to tell him that with our current medical technology, he may never fully walk again."

Zoroark gasps. Link looks on solemnly. "I know, I know. I do have a feeling that perhaps the Star Fox team may help. _May. _But tensions are already high enough. Their team is dealing with a bit of inner fighting right now."

Zoroark nods at this bit of information._ Interesting, _he thinks to himself. _Perhaps I should watch the situation._

While Link isn't looking, Zoroark quickly slinks away and finds himself out in the hall. It doesn't take his trained ears to hear the arguing coming from a few doors down. Using his illusion abilities, he manages to create a perfectly structured illusion around himself that would make him appear to be completely invisible to people not too close to him. Finding that the door to the room with the arguing in it is already open, he pushes it open and enters slowly.

"The LTR is making no progress."

"Falco, I already _told _you that the LTR won't even help in this situation!" Fox shouts, glaring at Falco. Krystal and Slippy both back off on the far wall, looking down at their feet.

"Listen here, Fox. You don't find a way off this... _place, _we're gonna have a _real _problem here between us, got it?"

"You act like I'm not already doing that! Seriously, what is with you sometimes?"

"Well, I don't know Fox. Tell me why so much information is being kept from me, and maybe I'll tell ya why I'm acting this way!" Falco responds, taking a step closer to Fox.

"Guys! Come on, what if you wake Auros?" Krystal whispers softly, trying to appease them. They both turn to look at her for a moment, but go right back to glaring at each other.

"I can't help the spread of information here, Falco," Fox says, a little more quiet. "I'll... I will try to tell you what is happening more often."

"Hmph!" Falco huffs, turning away. "Seems like nowadays, all you care about is your _bitch _girlfriend and that stupid blue dog. You tell them _everything._"

_Oh no. _Zoroark considers leaving the room, but he is suddenly shoved back against the wall as a red fox pushes past him with his hands around Falco's neck. Slippy and Krystal spring forward and desperately try to tear Fox off him.

They succeed, eventually, leaving Falco on the floor gasping for breath. Fox flails his arms out for a moment, and it takes his two teammate's combined strength to keep him from assaulting his partner.

"You... I _knew _it," Falco says, stumbling to his feet. Fox heaves for breath as his limbs finally relax, and Falco just stares back at him. "I _knew it," _he repeats.

With that, he turns and exits the room, slamming the wooden door with all the force he can muster and splitting it down the middle.

"Uh... I guess I'll get back to the ship! Yeah!" Slippy says. "Quickly now..." he mumbles, pushing past everyone else in the room and out into the hallway. Fox sighs and follows him out. Krystal is about to exit the room, but as she passes Zoroark, she looks directly at his eyes and nods at him, despite him being invisible. He hardly suppresses his gasp.

Completely shocked, Zoroark simply stands there staring at the cracked wooden door of the now empty room. Within moments, a hand gently pushes open the door and a young face looks in. Link, seeing nobody, walks in and sits on the bed, rubbing his face in exasperation. Hesitantly, Zoroark drops the Illusion and follows silently up to Link, kneeling in front of him. Unfortunately, the sudden appearance of the huge dark-type in front of him sends Link flying off the bed in surprise.

"Wha- oh, nevermind.." Link trails off, shaking his head. "I shouldn't have even been surprised at that, with all these events. Auros woke up..." Link grits his teeth. "He heard everything. He is, once again, in distress."

Zoroark sinks lower to the ground, a look of pain crossing his face. Link smiles weakly. "Don't worry about it. They are a tightly knit team – they will rebound. I think we should go, though. Red's probably waiting for you."

The Pokémon nods, and promptly leaves the room. Link sighs, rubbing his hands on the sheets upon realizing that sweat was building up.

_I should really talk to Princess Zelda again..._

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_**Flight : Part II**_

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"Is there anything you can do?"

"Link, I am sorry, but you hold the Triforce. Use the wisdom infused in it – you will always know what to do."

Princess Zelda smiles sweetly down at Link, who shakes his head and does not return the smile. "That's the thing... I don't know what to do right now. I mean, there's Auros I have to worry about, Snake, whom can hardly be trusted at this point, along with the _entire _Star Fox team!"

"Link..." Zelda says softly. "You cannot expect all the answers to come so easily or right away. Search deeper within yourself. If that doesn't work, then it might just require time."

"I don't understand, Zelda. How do you deal with all this? So suddenly... so soon, have all these foreign people intruded onto our lands."

"Hey, it is better than just sitting around and doing nothing. Hyrule? Low crime, low poverty... it can honestly get boring around here sometimes," Zelda laughs.

"I suppose so," Link says, laughing lightly along with her. They converse for a few more minutes, talking about the minimal current events that occurred that day.

Link arrives back at his room, shutting the door tightly behind him. He sheds his gear, staring out the window as he finishes unbuckling the Master Sword from his belt. He listens closely, hearing faint noises of crickets far below his window.

_Hm.. no fighting tonight. In fact.. there is no arguing at all._

The past few nights had been particularly rough on everyone. The Star Fox team was constantly arguing, while Auros was keeping Snake, Red, and Link up all night with unspecified nightmares.

Sighing in content, Link flops down on the bed, laying his head back in preparation for a well-needed rest. His eyes begin to droop, and finally close.

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"_INDIGO!"_

Link blinks his eyes, groaning loudly as the panicked shout rings throughout the halls of the castle. He climbs out of his bed and sleepily walks out into the hall. Fox pokes his head out from his room, and Link signals for him to go back in. He finds his way down the hall towards Auros's room, scraping the palms of his hands against the cool rock walls while his eyes adjusted to the looming darkness.

He stops at the doorway, finding the door already open. In the dim light, he squints his eyes and sees that Zoroark had made it there before him, already attempting to comfort the Aura Pokémon. Link walks in, and Zoroark turns and flashes him a pained look.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry.." Auros whispers, still quivering from the nightmare. Link pads up to the bed, sitting down next to the large dark-type. Zoroark is muttering unintelligible yet soft things, meant to try and calm down Auros. Link watches with genuine interest as Zoroark subconsciously rubs Auros's paws, trying to comfort him as much as possible.

_Hm._

"Zoroark, what are you doing?" Link asks quietly. The Pokémon looks at him confused, before tracing his eyes down to where his paws are currently holding Auros's. He blushes and retracts them, looking away.

"He needs it! Don't stop," Link laughs. Zoroark nods and hesitantly continues.

Finally, after several minutes of them trying to calm down Auros, they succeed, and his breaths become much more consistent and light. He lies back down.

"Thanks, Zoroark... I-I won't forget..." he trails off, falling back asleep.

"No problem."

Link watches them converse, unable to understand their language. _There's definitely something more. I should... talk to Zelda about it. Tomorrow.._

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_**Flight : Part III**_

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Red stares at the floor, pushing his foot into the ground to pass the time. He hears a sigh and looks up across the table, shifting in his seat as Link shakes his head.

"I just don't understand. Auros is clearly troubled. The Star Fox team is breaking apart. I.. it's very overwhelming at times."

"No kidding," Red grunts, pulling out a Pokémon ball. He tosses it a short distance in the small room, releasing Zoroark. The Pokémon quickly scampers off.

"You've been keeping him out of that device for a while now. Why?" Link asks.

"He enjoys it better. I think I might just not use the ball anymore. It only makes things worse."

They fall into another silence. Red managed to sleep through the night, not hearing Auros's scream. Link wasn't able to catch much sleep after all, too troubled by the events that had occurred. In the morning, he managed to catch the Star Fox team traveling together while gazing out the window, but none of them were talking. He knew that there was much to resolve.

"Red... did you know that Zoroark and Auros are really good friends?" Link asks suddenly. Red looks up, surprised, before nodding.

"Yeah."

"I... I think they might be more than just friends, Red.."

This caught Red's attention. He stares at him for a moment, before looking behind him as if Auros would suddenly appear. "Really? What makes you say that?" he asks curiously.

"Well... when Zoroark was trying to comfort Auros last night, they were holding han- er... paws. Zoroark was definitely doing it more than just to help comfort him."

Red leans back, sighing. "I'm not surprised. Zoroark is the only one who is like Auros. All my other Pokémon – Blaziken, Ivysaur, Squirtle, and Charizard all prefer the Pokémon ball rather than being outside. They hardly talk much... sometimes I don't even know if they have a mind of their own. They just blindly follow my orders. Zoroark... he was always the smart one. Always the one who knew what to say at the right times. Even if I didn't understand it."

"You... are you okay with this?" Link asks, narrowing his eyes.

"Why wouldn't I be? Sinnoh has never had an issue with that. I don't think a single region I've been to has ever tried to restrict something like that."

"Hyrule is similar in that regard. That's good," Link replies. Red opens his mouth to reply, but the door suddenly opens and a mercenary walks in.

"You're lucky."

"Snake? How long were you listening?" Red asks, swiveling around to look at him. Snake shrugs.

"Long enough."

"What do you mean, 'you're lucky'?" Link asks. Snake sighs and points at a chair. Link nods, and the mercenary pulls up a chair and sits at the table with them.

"Where I'm from... uh, Earth.. is a-"

"Hey, I'm from Earth!" Red says, looking at him with a smile. Snake stutters and stares at him.

"I... well, I don't think Earth has those.. things. Uh, Pokémon," he says quickly. "Perhaps there are two Earths? I don't even know. Anyways..."

"The Earth that I'm from is completely... fu.. uh.." he stares at Red, and shrugs. "Screwed up. Say, Red, what kind of conflicts do you have on your planet?"

Red thinks for a moment. "Well, sometimes we have these villainous organizations come and try to take over the region. Like Team Galactic in Sinnoh. That's... about it."

Snake laughs. "That's hardly anything!"

Red flinches at these words, and Snake quickly continues. "Don't act like that's a bad thing. You should be grateful that that's the place you get to live in. On my Earth, we deal with war, corruption, politics, economy, religious conflict..." he sighs. "People just don't know how to think for themselves on that planet. I swear to God, they don't even know what the word 'empathy' means."

"Well, I suppose all places have those issues..." Link muses, thinking about the conflict with Ganon.

"Really? Has religious conflict alone killed over a billion people here?"

Link laughs. "One _billion _people? Hyrule couldn't hold more than 100,000! Besides, there really is only two ways of thinking here. You are either religious, or not religious. Nobody cares what you choose."

Snake shakes his head. "Yeah, well that just means you don't need to deal with overpopulation."

"I... is it really that bad?"

Snake nods. "Oh yeah, for sure. I've been victim of it, even. Crowded cities, corrupt governments trying to do things that are unethical... but I always think a little farther. Ask yourself why the governments do such things. Don't be angry that they do something you disagree with – ask yourself why they did it. More people need to question their own beliefs. It really helps."

"And like I said, I'm a victim of it. Most religions on our planet are intolerant of any sexuality other than heterosexuality. As a bisexual man myself, I've always dealt with various amounts of discrimination. It's such a touchy subject that nobody wants to do anything about it."

Link and Red stare at him, their mouths agape. "Uh..." they say together. "That's... quite the situation. Where exactly does... you know, this.. fit in with our current issue?"

While they weren't exactly _opposed _to what Snake was saying, it was simply an informational overload. The issues he outlined were issues that simply failed to exist in Hyrule and the various Pokémon regions.

Snake looks up, after a brief period of looking thoughtful. "Oh. Well I suppose I heard you talking about Auros. How's he doing now by the way?"

"Good enough, I suppose. His..." Red lowers his voice. "We think his leg may be permanently damaged."

Link kicks Red. Before Red can react, Snake lets out a groan and flashes him a pained look. "Are you kidding me? As if I didn't feel bad enough..."

After a few moments of silence, Snake finally picks up again. _"Anyways... _I was saying how Auros and Zoroark seemed to be advancing their friendship past.. well, more than_ just a friendship. _I only wanted to provide some insight. He's pretty lucky to be in a place where he doesn't have to deal with the crap that my planet faces."

"Why... why do they do some of the things that you mentioned?" Link asks. Snake shrugs.

"'Cause there's over 7 billion people on that planet. So many different opinions. Unfortunately, _every _single opinion on that planet, or belief, or point of view, has at _least _one person who does not understand how to treat the others respectfully, and respect their opinions. At least here, in Hyrule, you have a pretty small population. That means a lot of unity amongst you. Besides, you seem to have the wisdom to know how to respect someone else's beliefs and lifestyles."

Link turns over his glove, absentmindedly staring at the Triforce of Wisdom. Snake stares at it too, before shaking his head, clearing his mind of an apparent thought. Over the course of the past week, Link and Red explained to him what kinds of tech existed, including Pokémon and the Triforce. Snake could not help but to be _extremely _intrigued on the subject.

"Anyways..." Snake continues. "I don't know what to do. I didn't have a purpose for being here, and I feel real bad about shooting Auros still." 

Link stands up and pats him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Auros forgives practically everyone for anything.. like..." he trails off, suddenly remembering the incident when he read the first line of the paper addressed to Indigo – a person that everyone but Zoroark has failed to identify.

Snake nods and smiles slightly. "Thanks, Link."

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After Snake left, Link finally decided to tell Red about the paper that he picked up from Auros's possessions. Red, again, wasn't too surprised.

"I'm going to... apologize, I guess."

"That's probably the right thing to do," Red says blankly, pulling out a cellphone from his pocket and thumbing it stoically. Link gazes at the device, having seen Red do this a couple times now. Red does this for a minute or so, before putting it away and nodding. "Good luck."

Link nods back and turns, heading down the hall towards Auros's room. He stops at the door, breathing in deeply and preparing to make amends. One more breath, and...

_Nothing. What?_

Link walks into the room, looking around frantically for Auros. Not on the bed, nor the bathroom, or anywhere else. He goes over to the window, staring out and seeing if he cant find the Aura Pokémon. He yelps when his head goes _through _the window, then smacks his face when he realizes that it was _open. _Almost immediately after that, he also realizes that because it was open, it probably meant that Auros had climbed out.

_Great, _Link thinks as he looks out on the horizon and barely catches the glimpse of two figures – one blue, one black.

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_**Flight : Part IV**_

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Auros sits up in bed, his ears twitching as the door opens again. Zoroark comes bounding in.

"Auros! I uh.." His confidence dropping rapidly, Zoroark changes his tone. "Did you want to get outta here?"

Auros looks at him confused, before pressing down on his leg and still feeling pain. "I.. I did not think I was in any condition to travel anywhere yet."

Zoroark's expression drops, and he slumps his shoulders. "Oh.." he mutters. Auros, as expected, has immediate feelings of guilt.

"Well, I mean... I-I wanted to.. rest, like you know, rest, and... h-hopefully my.."

_Sigh._

"Fine. I don't think Link wants me to leave, so we probably can't leave through any method that is conventional."

"Auros, we're Pokémon!"

With that, Zoroark runs over to the window and opens it. He quickly looks over at Auros and beckons, before jumping out. The Aura Pokémon gasps and flies out of bed, nearly howling in pain as he pushes weight on his leg for the first time in a week. He hobbles over to the window and looks down, sighing as he sees Zoroark waving at him.

"_Zoroark, I cannot survive a fall like that in my condition," _Auros communicates, switching to telepathy to ensure that he is not heard. Zoroark looks around for a moment, before shrugging and walking close to the castle wall and holding his arms out, intending to catch him from the 50 foot drop.

_Great._

Pushing past his fears, his clambers out of the window and drops down, hoping that his steel frame would at least protect him a little just in case Zoroark failed to catch him. He squeezes his eyes shut just before hitting the ground, but thankfully the dark-type _did _manage to catch him.

Panting now, Auros rolls out of Zoroark's arms and falls to the ground, trembling a bit. Before he even has another moment to catch his breath, Zoroark grabs his arms and pulls him up, dragging him along.

Auros hardly listens as Zoroark rambles on about how he "needs to see this" or "hurry up!". Soon, he is able to hobble alongside the other Pokémon, moving at a slightly slower pace and still dealing with an exceptional amount of pain in his leg.

"L-Listen, Zoroark?" Auros pants. Zoroark stops talking and looks at him.

"Can w-we please rest? My l-leg is killing me."

Noticing the extreme pain in his eyes, Zoroark's face becomes more somber and he nods, slowing down to a stop and taking a seat in the tall grass. Auros sucks in ragged breathes, turning his head to look behind him to see how far they went. Struggling to see the castle, he decides that he doesn't actually want to know.

"Wha.. what is it that you wanted me to see?" Auros asks, still struggling to catch his breath.

"I found a strange object while exploring this past week, and I don't know what it is. I wanted to bring you there so maybe you could tell me."

"You could not wait for me to get better?"

Zoroark laughs. "I guess not."

They fall into a brief period of silence, the only noises being the insects and animals of the long field grass around them. Every now and then, a bird flies overhead and sings its song, a beautiful noise to the Pokémon's ears. Auros finally finds a good position to rest his leg, dulling the pain somewhat and still attempting to suppress small grunts.

Zoroark looks up, and then back down at Auros, who is staring off in the distance and slowly swiveling his head. Inevitably, they lock eyes for a moment.

The dark-type, this time, is unable to look away as the fire in Auros's eyes seem to be burning at a much brighter level than usual. Auros flinches as the brightness increases past its normal level, and his eyes glow blindingly bright. Zoroark, on the other hand, is completely attached to this, and gasps when all of the Aura Pokémon's emotions and thoughts are translated to him unwillingly...

_Angst. Feelings of hopelessness. Feelings of loss over a friend. Unwillingness to create new friendships to avoid causing the same issues. Hatred towards a friend he once loved dearly. Hatred at himself for the gift that he has. Hatred at himself for what he has just done. Hatred at himself for things he has done in the past._

"_Indigo..." _Auros breathes. Zoroark stares at him, completely bewildered, as the Aura Pokémon shudders.

Zoroark himself leans forward and stares more closely at Auros's eyes, trying to see if he can't divulge more. He wants more answers, unsatisfied with the cryptic code he just received.

Auros stares in shock at Zoroark as the dark-type leans in. The air becomes heavy, all the outside noises stop. Neither of them can see anything but each other, and they both begin to tilt their muzzles and move closer...

"_AUROS!"_

Auros jumps and leaps back, causing a sharp pain through his leg, blushing deeply when he realizes he was only centimeters away from Zoroark, who only sighs and shivers. Slowly, he takes in his surroundings again and looks around, seeing Link bounding towards him with the Master Sword unsheathed. He raises his paws defensively, but Link only stops short and looks at them both.

"What are you doing, Auros? As if the damage to your leg wasn't enough!" Link shouts. Auros would have normally detected anger, but knowing Link, he knows that it is anger because Link is worried. He breathes out, still recovering from the intimate moment with Zoroark.

"_I apologize. Zoroark wanted to..."_

He looks at Zoroark, who twitches his eye to give him his answer. _"Wanted to talk. Just for a bit."_

"Out here?! Argh.." Link grunts, rubbing his face with his hands. "Whatever. I guess it is for the better anyways. Being cramped up in that room for a week can really hurt someone if they aren't careful."

Auros nods and lowers his paws, extinguishing the aural flames in them. Zoroark clambers to his feet, apparently recovered from the incident too. Link looks between them for a moment, before realizing something.

"Oh! Auros, here," Link says, pulling out a glass bottle filled with pink liquid from his knapsack. He turns the bottle over, reading the label, before handing it off to Auros. The Pokémon looks at it curiously as well. "We've been developing this for a week. One time use, all you need to do is drink it. Hopefully it will speed up the process of healing your leg. But..."

Link sighs. "I'm afraid that we doubt your leg will ever be useful again."

Auros stares at him, his eyes wide in shock. Just as Link is about to try and hug him and comfort him, Auros unexpectedly laughs. Both Zoroark and Link look at him in interest.

"_Don't worry. You underestimate my aura."_

With that, he pops off the cork on the glass bottle and chugs the strange liquid. He waits a few moments, and the pain in his leg reduces even further. Nodding, he sits on the grass and holds up his paws, letting his aura flame in them for a moment. Then, swiftly, he moves his damaged leg so that it is between his paws, and grunts as aura from within his body is transferred to his leg. Nearly a minute later, he slows the process and stops it, before falling back into the grass and nearly passing out. Link and Zoroark rush over and hold him back up into a sitting position, as Auros pants.

"There... all.. better..."

"...How?" Link asks incredulously.

"I... can... hold on..."

Auros spends the next few minutes breathing as Link and Zoroark sit next to him and hold him up. When his heart finally stops beating so quickly, he continues. "I can transfer aura from within my body to a certain point that requires reparations. It is a very tiring and _extremely _dangerous process. If I am not careful and use too much aura, I will die from aura loss. This is why I had to wait until my leg was nearly healed."

"That's amazing..." Link breathes, staring at the completely repaired leg. Auros tests it by getting to his feet, only feeling a slight soreness now. He sprints as fast as possible, putting several hundred feet of distance between him and his friends in only a few seconds. He sprints back, nodding and smiling when he arrives.

"Well, I su-"

_BANG_

All three of them jump at the sudden noise, and they quickly turn and stare in the direction of the shot.

The Great Forest.

Auros quickly remembers when Snake shot him in the leg, and he vows to be as careful as possible. Another shot rings out, and Link gestures them to follow him as he takes the lead and begins to jog towards the forest. Auros and Zoroark follow close, fear creeping up in all of them.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"_Damn this stupid thing!"_

A fur leg kicks as hard as it can against a glass canopy, shattering in several spots. The leg belongs to a bipedal gray wolf, swearing loudly as he cuts his foot in several spots from the glass shards raining down on him. He holsters his laser blaster, jumping out of his crashed aircraft.

Wolf O'Donnell, also known more simply as _Star Wolf_, is the charismatic leader of his team, also named Star Wolf. His team was following the Star Fox team, tracking them down to the strange portal on Corneria that took the entirety of his rivals. His team broke off at the last moment, causing him to be separated and be the only one who followed Star Fox through the portal. Wolf swears for the umpteenth time at the rest of his team as he jams several buttons on the console, opening several hatches for him to remove his gear from.

He pulls out a small backpack, filled with various survival gear, and presses a button on the side of his headset and flipping a display over his eye. He scans the area, the display giving him vast information on his new environment.

_Huh. I haven't seen this type of planet before... _he thinks to himself as he clicks off the display. He reaches into another hatch and pulls out another laser blaster, strapping it to the other side of his belt. He pulls out his radio, clicking it on, but only hearing static. Like his radio, his radar fails to provide any information as well.

_Hmph. Maybe this will finally be a place that isn't constantly being oppressed by the Cornerian Army. Hopefully no bounty here as well for me._

Putting the radio and radar back into his ship, he closes the hatches and steps away, observing the damage. Immediately after arrival, his wing was clipped he spun out of control, sending him careening into several large trees of this massive forest. The impact knocked him unconscious for at least a day, and only now was he making his escape from his craft.

Turning away from his fighter, he begins to trudge towards what he remembers to be the edge of the forest.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Link creeps through the thick brush, trying to make as little noise as possible. Zoroark and Auros trail behind close, their natural abilities able to keep them much quieter than the Hylian in front of them. He drags his sword along the ground, tracing a trail behind him and scanning the area ahead as close as possible.

They arrive at a small opening in the forest, surrounded by large thicket bushes. Crawling underneath one, he pops his head into the clearing and stands up, followed by the Pokémon. Brushing the dirt off his clothes, he makes his way to the other side, lifting a bush to travel underneath it once more.

He gets to the ground, and shoves his head through.

_SMACK_

Screaming, Link bounds backwards as fast as possible, the thorns catching his hat and ripping it off his head. He flails back as another figure emerges from the bushes and springs to his own feet. A gray wolf.

Auros bends his knees and raises his paws, allowing his aura to flame at maximum strength and letting out the mightiest roar he can muster. Link and Zoroark both stare at him, amazed by the sudden display of power. Even the wolf, intimidating by himself, flinches. Recovering quickly, Link raises his sword in a defensive posture, while Zoroark points at him and bares his teeth, unsheathing his own red claws to their maximum length.

The wolf laughs. "Please. Now this is a group if I've ever seen one..."

Dropping his amused expression, he drops his hands to his belt and flips out both of his pistols, and aims them directly at both Auros and Zoroark. Auros narrows his eyes and allows his aura to flame even brighter than before, despite not seeming possible.

"Any of you move towards me, I will fire both of my pistols. The laser bolt from these is enough to blow off a head completely."

Auros tries to think tactically, and considers telepathy. He remembers how Krystal is able to hear his telepathy, and isn't too sure if the wolf is able to do the same. He decides against it, not wanting to risk his friend's life. They all glare at each other, attempting to outlast the other side.

Several minutes pass. Link opens his mouth, indicating that he wants to speak. Wolf nods.

"This doesn't have to end violently."

"Really? How about you convince me that you aren't part of the Cornerian Army? Or any of those other bounty hunters?"

Link briefly recalls the Star Fox team mentioning Corneria. "Corneria? Do you know the... Star Fox team?"

Wolf stomps his foot on the ground and tightens his grip on both of the pistols. Link's heart jumps, but Wolf only shouts. "Star Fox?" he spats out. "Of course I know them! They are our sworn enemies! Haven't you heard of our conflicts?"

Pausing for a moment, he stares at all three of them, and then chuckles. "You know, come to think of it, you don't even look like you are from the Lylat System, so never mind."

Link narrows his eyes. "You're right. We aren't. And you aren't in the Lylat System. Welcome to _my _home: Hyrule."

The aggression from Link takes Wolf by surprise, but he recovers rapidly and laughs ruefully. "Congratulations."

Another period of silence follows this. Link swings around his sword, preparing to make his move. Auros looks at Zoroark and Link, trying to translate what he wants to do to them. Wolf watches this and growls, making sure his pistols are aimed _directly _for their heads.

_Click._

Turns out, another figure behind Wolf crept up, and aimed _his _own pistol at Wolf's head. Wolf sighs and drops his head, laughing lowly.

"Fox, you never fail to disappoint."

Whipping around, he does a back flip and kicks the pistol right out of Fox's hand, landing several feet away, closer to Link and Auros. They rush in, and Wolf dives to the side and takes off sprinting, shooting laser bolts randomly behind him. Falco joins the team, followed by Red, who jumps in front of Zoroark to protect his Pokémon from any potential shots. Falco and Fox rush forward, followed by Link, Auros, Red, and Zoroark.

Wolf swiftly maneuvers between trees, swerving at the last possible moment to throw off his attackers. Link follows, jumping up and bounding off the tree at an angle to keep up his momentum. Auros runs straight forward, having a plan of his own. The others follow Link as they desperately try to keep up with the agile wolf.

"Idiots! You think you can catch a mercenary that easily?" Wolf shouts behind him, ducking beneath a large branch. Link holds out his shield, shattering the branch as he slams into it.

Wolf makes a sudden left turn, and ducks under another branch, anticipating it. Link follows, but he doesn't realize that the branch is there and gasps, sliding on his back underneath it at the last moment. His back is coated with mud and his leg twists, and he yelps in pain. Red jumps over the branch, flailing in the air as he trips over Link and is sent careening into the mud farther ahead. Fox, Falco, and Zoroark take a detour, putting more distance between themselves and Wolf.

Appearing to get away, Wolf lowers his pace and finally turns around, seeing nobody. He laughs. "Knew Star Fox would never be abl- _Oof!"_

A blue figure slams into him like a ton of bricks and sends him flying backwards into a jagged rock. He howls in pain as it stabs his back in multiple places. Wolf slumps to the ground, breathing heavily as the blue figure on top turns out to be the one he pointed his gun at earlier, Auros.

Struggling, the Aura Pokémon only puts more weight onto his limbs. Auros's eyes flash in anger as he gives Wolf an intense glare that translates to: _"Stop, or you will lose your limbs."_

Wolf struggles more, and Auros hisses as he himself struggles to keep the wolf down. Angry, he reaches down and plucks the laser pistol from his belt.

"Hey!" Wolf shouts, but Auros is already applying pressure to the gun. Within seconds, he drops it to the ground as a small square of metal and electronic parts. He reaches down to do likewise with Wolf's other pistol, but Fox, Falco, and Zoroark arrive and pull Auros off of Wolf. Fox reaches into his pack and pulls out an injector, and Wolf squirms as Fox quickly places it on his arm and presses a button.

Link and Red run up just as Wolf's vision darkens, and he falls into an uneasy sleep.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Flight : Part V**_

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Fox stares at his unconscious rival, twisting around his pistol in deep thought. Falco comes up behind him.

"Come on now, Fox. You and me both know that he is our rival, not our sworn enemy. 'Sides, the Cornerian Army would want him alive."

Fox nods. The Star Fox team managed to reconcile after they arrived back at the castle after the brief spar with Wolf. Ironically, the incident brought them closer together, making Wolf's appearance inadvertently strengthen the team.

They leave the room, and a few minutes pass before Wolf has his next visitors. Two Pokémon walk in.

"So this is him..." Auros mutters, scanning the figure before him. He was expected to wake in only a few hours, so he didn't plan on accidentally falling asleep like he always did.

"Yep," Zoroark responds, also scanning. He sighs and sits down, looking wistfully out the window. Auros comes up and looks at him quizzically.

"What's wrong?" he prods.

"..." Zoroark sighs, bringing his paws to his face and covering it. "We can't hide what happened earlier forever, Auros."

Auros falls silent, staring at the larger Pokémon. "I..." he starts, but quickly stops when he realizes that he _doesn't _even have an answer for that.

As fate would have it, the door slams open and Link comes in and stares at them for a moment, noticing the uneasiness. Ignoring it, he pads over to Wolf and checks on him, making sure he is still stable. After he finishes, he sighs and turns to the two silent Pokémon.

"He's going to be fine, obviously, but I don't know what we are going to do with him. He's obviously hostile."

"_Send him back?" _Auros communicates, chuckling. Link shrugs.

"I wish we could, honestly. I told Zelda about it, and she is actually starting to become a bit irritated. Tomorrow, I have to update the villages. I'm _dreading _that."

"_I'll go with you."_

Zoroark looks at Auros, and nods, indicating that he will go as well. Link smiles. "You guys really help a lot more than you think. Thanks."

"_You are welcome."_

"By the way..." Link says, smirking mischievously. "How is it going between you two? Are you getting along fine?"

Auros narrows his eyes, while Zoroark simply looks down at the ground. _"We're fine," _he answers bluntly.

"More than just _fine..._" Link says under his breath. Auros swishes his tail angrily, closing his eyes for a second to relieve his sudden anger. Link is about to continue teasing him, but suddenly remembers the note that he accidentally read not too long ago. He falls silent, and shakes his head. "I apologize. That was none of my business."

With that, Link turns and leaves the room. Auros and Zoroark look at each other, unsure of how to react. Finally, they leave the room as well and part ways, Auros going down the hall in one direction, Zoroark in the other direction.

However, Auros did not return to his room. He chooses instead to travel a bit further down, stopping a door that he is _fairly _certain he knows who it belongs to. Hesitantly, he reaches up a paw and _very _lightly raps on the door.

A few seconds pass, before it is gently pried open from the inside. A blue-furred vixen's face pops out, and she looks down at Auros's smaller frame.

"Come in!" she says, recognition filling her face. "It's been a while, Auros."

Auros nods, coming into the room as she opens the door further to allow him in. Krystal walks over to a table and neatly stacks several papers and puts away multiple gadgets.

"_What are those?" _he asks, his curiosity overwhelming him.

"Ship diagrams for the Great Fox. The crash managed to damage the ship externally _as well as _internally, making our problem just _that _much more difficult. I've been tasked with fixing the electrical systems but... honestly, Slippy is so energetic, I wouldn't mind if he did everything. Leaves me no time to learn the local wildlife here and communicate with it. _You know?" _she says, communicating the last part in telepathy. Auros nods.

"_I have never been able to communicate with the wildlife here. I believe they must be sentient for it to work."_

"Nonsense!" she laughs. "I did it all the time in the Lylat System. No sense in it not working here."

Auros shrugs, padding up next to her and hugging his chest as he looks down at the papers.

"Must you be so nervous all the time?" she asks, pushing in the chair and closing the window. "Let's talk outside."

They exit the room, walking down the dimly lit hall of the castle. Auros sighs and shakes his head. _"I suppose it is just my nature to be that way. I am not very sociable."_

Krystal nods. "I understand. I was that way for quite a while as well, but Fox helped me come out of my shell a bit. We've been together for a long time now."

"_Can.. may I discuss something with you?" _Auros asks timidly. Krystal stops and looks at him, before nodding.

"Of course! In... private?"

Auros answers this by turning abruptly and entering a food storage room. It is small and fairly dusty, with no light except for an eternally burning chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and several stacks of grain bags piling all the way up to the roof. Auros takes a seat on one of these sacks, while Krystal sits across from him.

"_I... you're in a relationship with Fox, correct?"_

Krystal nods. _"Yeah," _she communicates, switching to telepathy to ensure a more private situation. _"For quite a while now. We faltered for a bit, but... it has since recovered."_

"_Well... I have never been in a relationship in my life. I have never had the time nor will to pursue one, and I have been afraid to start one since..." _Auros pauses, recalling the terrible incident. _"s-since... ah..."_

Krystal smiles knowingly. _"Too hard to discuss?"_

Auros nods dryly. _"I... one day you will know. It pains me too much to say right now," _Auros says, sniffling and squeezing his eyes shut. He recovers and sighs. _"A-Anyways... I suppose what I am trying to say is that I think it is happening.. again."_

"_I thought you never experienced love before?" _Krystal questions.

"_The relationship I had with the person I struggle to talk about was a very close and intimate friendship. Not romance."_

She nods. _"Ah. Am I correct to assume that you and Zoroark are the ones in love?"_

Auros gasps lightly, then shuts his eyes and nods. _"H-How did you know? You haven't told anyone, have you?"_

Krystal laughs in response. _"No! Of course not. I would never betray someone like that. I know because it is easy enough to listen to telepathic talk with my mind. I've heard what you've been communicating with Zoroark, albeit accidentally."_

Auros nods, and sighs. _"I guess so. At least I can trust you," _he says, cracking a weak smile. _"Well... this 'love' was progressing at a steady rate, and I could handle it, but... something happened. We almost... well, kissed."_

Krystal laughs again, but in more of a friendly way. _"That's wonderful!" _she expresses. _"Don't worry. He will respect your wishes if you do not want to go that fast. Just know that this is beneficial for both of you. Personally, I believe you have been alone for far too long, Auros. For someone with your personality, I am surprised to see that more people _haven't _been chasing after you."_

Auros blushes. _"T-Thanks..." _he stutters. Krystal nods and pats him on the shoulder.

"Anytime," she responds normally. "And don't forget – I am always here to talk to you with our telepathy."

_I hope, because I feel another vision coming on, and I am afraid._

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Next Chapter**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_So confusing... he's there, but I don't want a repeat of what happened. What if I do the same thing to him as I did to Indigo?_

_I mustn't dwell on it. Not after what just happened. More important issues have arose, and I must protect the land of Hyrule from these invaders._

_But my mind keeps drifting to Zoroark.._

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Closure**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I guess the main theme is pretty obvious now:

Empathy.

Been the plan since day one. I'm going to continue to expand upon this idea. In my classes, we've been hitting this idea of empathy very hard. They cant stress enough how people are failing to empathize with other groups. I've found this philosophy very interesting, and have been looking into it recently and seeing how I can interpret it. I've got a general idea right now.

This is why I decided to make the truth about Auros's grief known so soon. It actually isn't that important in the overall perspective of the story, rather just a way to translate the theme of Empathy into a more personal connection with the reader.

So, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to do a lot of things in this story that might be a bit controversial. At the same time, I'm definitely going to attempt to preach this idea of empathy, and how society as a whole needs to understand one another better.

Just to keep the story interesting, I've outlined two other major themes, and 5-6 minor themes in this chapter alone. See if you can guess what they are!


End file.
